Into the Fire
by gaaras.sand.blackforest
Summary: Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. What if Wei Wuxian returned to the moment he first came in contact with the Tiger Seal? What if he truly had the demonic power that everyone said he did? How would he interact with the people who tried to kill him? Can he prevent the terrible things that happened? - Will combine elements from the novel and anime. May update slowly. Leave Reviews!
1. Into the Fire

Wei Ying stood amid the fire, breathing the smoke. It seared his lungs, but he could not keep it out. Nor could he die from it. He could not die, at all. And that was the crux of it, the reason for his melancholia. He had pushed it out of his mind, away from the consciousness that had to live in reality. But reality had broken again and he had remembered everything from when he had fallen into Burial Mound.

Nothing made sense. Nothing was supposed to make sense. Yet he wanted to force the noise to stop and give him a chance to think; to just think about it!

The edges of his sleeves were starting to smoke. There was nothing left and no one beside him, save the souls of the damned that had infested his body. He could hear them roaring and laughing louder than the flames; it hurt his head to the point blood ran from his ears and his eyes. All that they had given to him they took back. Many times the pain and suffering, many times the sorrow and despair. From that moment he had woken on the ground in Burial Mound, he had been walking toward this moment; because the unusual thing about him was not his powers or his intellect or his steel...it was that he was alive.

He should have pancaked on the ground when he fell from that height. At least broken an arm or a leg. Yet, he had woken whole and intact. That was ridiculous. He had not the luck for that and no miracles were going to happen to him. He had just pushed the truth from his mind because it was too painful. That he had not woken in that kind of state, able to immediately get up and walk toward the next fight. No, he had woke in a half-crushed state with bones sticking out of twisted, mutilated limbs. His whole torso had been ripped open on jagged rocks and the roots of fossilized trees; black, black, everywhere had been black!

Yet, he had not been dead. He had not died from the impact or the blood loss. Unable to move, he had just gone insane. From the horror of his body's terrible condition. Like all the others that had been thrown away into that place. And the madness had consumed him just like those souls had eaten his flesh. So, because he had not had any other choice, he had eaten them. They had fused and become one, the black plugging up the holes and healing him of his wounds.

Even later on, when Jiang Cheng had sliced open his stomach, he had not felt the pain or horror of seeing his organs popping out because that was so tame, so inconsequential to him. He had merely picked up the rubbish and shoved it back where it belonged.

He did not want to leave any bits and pieces behind!

He felt that everything he had done recently had gone wrong; like some alien, outside force was perverting it. There were only a few things he knew for certain, it had not started from the pass and the battle there. That was perhaps the most obviously suspicious event, though.

His hand bled as he clutched the Tiger Seal. This diabolical object, which had perhaps been the best friend he had ever had, was now forcing him to make yet another death-defying leap of courage. To tempt fate and throw himself into the fire? He had overcome water, darkness, despair, and gravity...what did he fear of fire?

Laughing, manically, aware that it was absurdly funny, he popped the central jewel from the Tiger Seal and put it in his mouth. Summoning all the darkness around him, he cast off his inhibitions and swallowed it. It sank into his abdomen as an uncomfortable lump. But then it immediately dissolved there and his body was torn and rent from within. Beyond what the spirits had done to him; this was much worse! He thrashed around crazily, casting the useless metal binding array to the side, and tearing his clothes and hair with his hands. He raged at the heavens and the hells, but more importantly, against the faces of those he loved; they had betrayed him, hurt him, killed his friends and his family.

There had been no love for him.

But he was pinning the very last shred of his dying humanity on the very thing that had brought so much pain and turmoil to him. Because that was the only thing that was still with him, here at the end.

His consciousness lapsed, but when it returned, he was sitting on a shelf in a dark place. He looked around, trying to assess the damages. There was a pain in all of his body. He could not remember much if anything, but a familiar voice spoke to him. "Wei Ying?!" A gentle, cool hand, a pleasant if masculine hand, touched his. "Wei Ying, do not go to sleep!"

Startled, he blinked and looked at Lan Zhan. They were in the turtle cave. The moment he had first found the Tiger Seal, before it had become the Tiger Seal, when it was still some ancient sword or relic. And the turtle, nearby, was slain already. He looked at his hands; they were pale and shaking from the exertion of taking on a four-hundred-year-old beast of carnage...but he gasped and looked to Lan Zhan sharply because there were markings of dull red and black etched over the backs of his hands.

Indeed, Lan Zhan had a terrible expression of worry and exhaustion on his handsome face. Everything about him seemed made up of two layers; his beauty at the base and then the grime and fatigue that lay over him. He was hurt. His leg was serious and warranted either amputation or healing skills far beyond whatever lay in the cave. The resentful energy of the million dead within the water, those who had been eaten or drown or died of some crime there, were crawling around and making a racket.

Lan Zhan could not hear them, though. Nor could he see them with his eyes. He could only communicate with spirits through Inquiry, and at the moment, he did not have a zither or energy left over. Instead, he merely suffered from it, without understanding the origins of his discomfort. His light coloured eyes dimmed and his upper body dropped as he started to succumb to the pain and disorientation.

Several of them had hold of his hair and his sleeves and were sucking what yang energy he had left right out of him.

"Shoo!" Wei Ying snarled at them, waving his hands about in the air and driving them off. "Away with you! That is not for you!" He found moving was too much for him and threw up, but after that, some clarity came to him. He was definitely not on Burial Mound. He was alone in the sealed cave with Lan Wanji and the dead turtle...and very many restless spirits. By itself, that was not so bad. But he had no way of knowing what the world outside was like. He could understand his soul migrating backwards in time, within his own karmic bonds, via the Tiger Seal...but he did not know if the world around him was the same or not.

If it was not, then he just had to live with however it was different.

If it was the same...then...that meant the war was...

Jiang FangMian, Madam Yu, Jiang Cheng...Jin Zixuan...Yanli...

He gulped and bit his wrist against the overwhelming ache in his chest. _He wanted to see them_! He wanted to believe that they were there, out there, waiting for him. That everything that had happened was a scary dream while he was drunk on filthy water and the fumes of a giant turtle. But as much as he wanted it, he did not believe it was possible. He could not allow himself to entertain such hopes. That was the proverbial 'too good to be true' that would only hurt more afterwards.

Instead, he focused his attention on Lan Zhan, who seemed to be panicking. Of course, he was intelligent enough to know who his prison mate had been shooing, but that did not give him comfort. Lan Zhan was very regal, very aloof. He tried not to mix with the environment. But even he was bound by the limits of his senses. Knowing that there were countless many dead around him and being able to do anything about it were entirely different. His eyes shifted, moodily, his brows pinched.

It was the first time Wei Ying had seen him look like that.

Reaching out to him, without even thinking about it, Wei Ying put a hand on his chest. "It's... fine." He said, in a gravelly voice that made his eyes water. "They are just seeking a way out. They want to finally escape from here and see the sky. For them, who have been waiting for hundreds of years, we're not of any consequence. But if they touch you, they'll suck up yang energy. It wouldn't normally cause any trouble, right? But it's just because we're in this condition."

With these words, Lan Wangji recovered his composure and took several deep breaths. He first fortified himself mentally, then made sure none of his remaining yang energy would slip away. The best bet was to sleep for around four hours and then cultivate, but with their injuries and lack of food and clean water, that was impossible. Therefore, he just concentrated on not letting himself get any weaker.

"Wei Ying..." He said, looking at his hands. "...you can see them?"

"Yes, I can." Wei Ying replied, honestly. "You didn't know?"

"Hm. I did not." The stoic reply, so completely honest, as usual. "Before...why did you speak such words, if you can see them?"

It was a rare occasion indeed that Lan Wangji asked anything of anyone, but such a bold, unforgiving question, so invasive, was a once in a lifetime situation. He was also waiting for an answer, with his clear eyes glinting dully in what little light there was within the cave. He had somehow started a fire, although Wei Ying only noticed it at that point. The flames drew his attention for a while; he had felt his skin blistering, but, the memory was fading away as time wore on.

"Yes." He said, softly.

Lan Zhan had looked down already, as if he had been ignored, but he looked up again sharply.

"Yes, I said some things back at the Cloud Recesses, didn't I? Such a long time ago, really, I forgot. Well, now. Lan Zhan, take my words as I intend them. Try not to plug up your ears with some rules and other people's opinions. When you play Inquiry, you have to listen, right? You have to be open to the souls around you. Maybe, those are not 'good' souls. Maybe they were murderers when they were alive. How would you know? But in death, maybe they found enlightenment, or maybe they're just lonely, so they answer you and help you. And that is 'good', right? So then what is 'good' and what is 'evil'?" He blinked. "First, I think that I just always had more to think about. There is my mother...but I was also homeless. I had seen the worst and best of humankind, but of the other half, it was just 'what is'. Because the spirits and the zombies and the ghouls never tried to hurt me, back then." He sighed, feeling the ache in all his bones as his blood pressure returned to a normal rate. "What other people cannot see, does not exist in 'their world'."

"Hm. That, I understand." Lan Zhan said, in his more normal voice. "Disturbing the dead..." He frowned. "...or manipulating them..." He looked around at the cave, his fingers holding his sleeves in. "...would that be called evil?"

"Maybe." Wei Ying smiled. "Well, Lan Zhan is a good person, so you maybe cannot think of it the way I do. Let us say I brutally murdered hundreds of people. I crushed them and stabbed them, ground then around until they were hideous. And then, I turned them into zombies. Now, that would be called evil, right?" He smiled, sardonically. "But if those people were the ones that burned the Cloud Recesses, then what? Or if they hurt the people at Lotus Pier? Yes, like that. So it's not just about what you do, its why you do it. And that's too complicated, you know? It's too much work to think it all out. So, people write down platitudes and come up with half-assed opinions. Back then, when that lesson was given about some-such, I honestly thought it was stupid." He looked down. "Lan Qi Ren...has probably never hated anyone so much he wanted to _murder_ them. He had very likely never gone hungry or been hunted by dogs, either, or even just thrown away. So he cannot think about it the same way. I never said I would hurt innocent people, did I?"

Lan Wangji sat back, his eyes wavering. For a long time, he was motionless. One could barely even tell he was breathing. Then he lowered his eyes and he swallowed thickly. "I...felt intolerably angry, but not to that extent." He sighed, putting a hand to his leg. It was darkened and his lips puckered. "It's rotting."

Startled, Wei Ying pulled the cloth aside. The flesh was certainly withered and had a malodorous fume around it. The filthy water had created damp gangrene in the broken bone, leading to necrosis of the surrounding tissue. It would spread the infection to his entire body in just a few hours, but there was nothing they could do in the cave. There was a sword, but no means of staunching the blood flow from a crude amputation. Not to mention that, even if they did that, he still might develop sepsis from the amputation site.

On the other hand, Wei Ying had no intention of letting Lan Zhan die such a terrible death. That was not one of the changes to reality he would accept. Certainly, 'before', he had never spoken to Lan Wangji like that. Not that candidly. Lan Zhan had not asked him such a question, for starters, but even if he had, he would have just laughed it off. He would not have understood it and that would have probably just made Lan Zhan disappointed...or angry.

But since it was a different 'time', and since he had already 'died' twice over, Wei Ying decided to change his future. The past was...just the past. But from this point forward, there was something to be done. Which started with Lan Zhan. While he was not stuck in the Cloud Recesses, while he was in the mood to question the world, Wei Ying decided to lure him over. At least a little bit. So that he would at least have a friend to turn to at the end.

"Lan Zhan, what I'm going to do, you absolutely cannot tell anyone about! Not your brother or Qi Ren! Not even Jiang Cheng or Jiang FangMian know about it!" He reached out, grabbing him by the shoulders. "It is a secret that I will share with you, but only you! Because I think you are trustworthy!"

His cat-like eyes widened in shock. "Wei Ying..." He whispered it, likely because he had been grabbed. "...if it is such a secret, it should be kept!"

"No, I want to tell you!" Smiling, just a little, he lowered his hands to the corrupted leg. "And you'll want an explanation afterwards, anyway."

Sucking up the toxicity was easy with the Tiger Seal. From what he could tell, he really had merged with it and it was more or less connected to his cultivation. He had a golden core at the moment since he had not given that up as of yet, and that was preventing the Tiger Seal's overwhelming yin energy from corrupting his mind. But that was also why there was a pain in all of his limbs and he had been knocked unconscious. He smiled as the markings on his hands seared, but he was very used to pain. He could have told Lan Zhan anything about the markings, but he had decided to make up a more pleasant story. It would not change things too much. He would not drag it out beyond belief. But, it would hopefully buy him a little breathing room.

He also really needed to do something about the leg.

It could not be entirely painless, but Lan Wangji did not cry out at any point; he bit his sleeve and held it all in. Then, he spat out blood and sat back, panting. His leg was a normal colour, although it was still broken. He blinked at the smooth, lily flesh, the same colour as the rest of his skin. "This is...?" He looked up, realised he had indeed asked about it, and scowled at himself. "Excuse me."

Sitting back, the markings fading from his skin, Wei Ying smiled. "Indeed. I'd want to know, too. Then I'll tell you about it. It's not something I really 'remember', but, I have more or less gained a lot of information from my mother. My mother...you know about her in rumour, right?"

"Yes." Lan Zhan nodded once. "Then, she had taught you cultivation from that age?"

"No, her cultivation was _hereditary_. Because it passes down through the blood, it's dangerous for others to know. When you cultivate to a certain extent, apparently you can gain one or two unique skills; like an array or a song or something; and then that becomes a physical part of your body. Well, if you could give birth, what would happen? It would pass on to that child. I don't know about males, but with my mother at least, I inherited about half of her ability when I was born. I could not use them!" He held up his hands. "I could not use them until I was around six. When I formed my golden core, you see, a huge amount of information came flooding into my mind. I did not understand most of the complicated bits, but I knew about arrays and I could draw rather exceptionally well for a six-year-old...anyway, there was one command..." He lifted a finger. "...that I ever tell anyone about it. It scared me, so I never did. But obviously, that was because I was a child, so I couldn't protect myself back then! She..." He looked down. "...went off somewhere..."

He let the silence hang there for a long time, then swallowed and brightened himself up.

They sat together, just watching the flames until Lan Zhan dozed off.

The spirits had been clawing at the cave, leaving gouges in the walls. Due to their handiwork, the cave-in was overcome from the inside and oxygen rushed it. This was much better than the foul air left inside. They also got a little more light. Whoever was out there, Wen clan members he assumed, were shredded as the spirits giddily escaped into the ether. Letting out a sigh, Wei Ying put a hand to Lan Zhan's chest, measuring his breathing. He felt very comforted that it was Lan Zhan he had awoken next to him, although they had never gotten on all that well. "This time, surely...I'll be able to protect them all..." He muttered as he looked at the swirling mist around his hand.


	2. Lotus Blossom

_They_ were finally free, but Wei Ying and Lan Zhan were not. He did not know if Jiang Cheng was even coming back 'this time' and he was desperate for water. Even more than food. He began to wiggle around and scrape at the dirt, tearing his fingernails until he bled. It was very slow work and he was exhausted already.

Just when he was going to give up and use the Tiger Seal, he felt the vibration of many feet and tensed. He could only think of the Wen clan coming back to claim the turtle's corpse and make a mess of them. Very many fantastical things, all with increasing ridiculousness, rushed up in his mind. To his relief, it was not red and white that fluttered over his vision, but black and purple.

Jiang Cheng came to the hole cautiously, peering down at him with very wide eyes. "Wei Wuxian?!" He called, cupping his lips with his hands just in case the thickness of the surrounding earth absorbed his voice. "We've got shovels and pickaxes. We'll dig you out! What of that Lan fellow?"

"He's unconscious but alive!" Wei Ying returned. "He just ran out of Yang Energy. The Wen clan were killed by the souls trapped in here, they made the hole. The turtle is dead, we killed it. But now I'm worn out. I'm never so glad to see your face." He shook his head, not sure how he felt about this. At this point, Jiang Cheng was just his younger 'brother' and his friend. But Wei Ying in his current state knew of the darkness inside Jiang Cheng and could not trust him with the same readiness as he had originally.

On the other hand, it was a chance to save this man. His 'brother'. He had given up everything for Jiang Cheng. His core, his piece of mind, his life, his body, his reputation...it all came down to this person, really. That was the start. Up until whatever strangeness had involved itself in his life and manipulated things at the pass; he still could not help but feel that was very...odd.

It was short work with that many people. They immediately bound Lan Zhan in white linen and two cultivators carried him on a litter while four others moved by him in his defence. Wei Ying, as a mobile entity, was expected to walk; he made it part of the way, but then collapsed coughing up blood and Jiang Cheng quickly had him put on another litter.

The arrival at Lotus Pier was not something he had experienced 'before'. He had been unconscious for that part. There were a lot of people running around, some carrying baskets of medical supplies. Others were bearing gourds of water for the returners to drink from. Everyone was dirty from digging out the cave and some people had minor injuries from rocks or hidden arrowheads.

They had not bothered to bring back the turtle shell, although it was a pity to leave it. There was some prestige to be had in being the ones to slay such a thing. On the other hand, Wei Ying was glad they had not dragged such a smelly thing back to Lotus Pier with them. Between him and Lan Wangji, most would assume the Lan, one of the Two Jades no less, would have played the more significant role. And he was fine with that since he felt he had gotten payment of another sort. He was closer to Lan Zhan, after all, and he had gotten the Seal...although from now on he was just going to have to say it was his own 'power' that had activated.

There were even details that he could pull from his memories. Incidents that would aid him in making others believe him. When strange things happened around him or he became wild and untamed, now it would all be due to that 'power' trying to awaken. He doubted that there was anyone in the cultivation world that could challenge his story at this point. Unless someone came down from the sacred mountain just to call him bluff...and he felt that was as close to impossible as anything got.

Unpleasantly, there was one person here that would question him whether she believed it or not. And this person was Jiang Cheng's mother, Madam Yu. She had never seriously hurt him. When commanded to cut off his arm, she had not done so. Yet she had still taken advantage of that situation to whip him on his back many times. He had not even been able to get up afterwards, so much had his back hurt him. If he was counting it against the fact that she could have broken his back or torn his flesh from his body, then she had not hurt him...but if he was counting his pain and suffering against her rationale for whipping him, then he could call her cruel.

He did not hate her, but, he could not like her.

She was not his mother. She was not even his step-mother. Her husband had not been his mother's lover, either.

Fengmian, Jiang Cheng's father, came forward with his normal gentle smile. He nodded to everyone graciously, moving without haste but steadily. It was apparent that he was proud of Cheng, in general, but he was not excited or overwhelmed. He was not worried, either. Even though Cheng had been shot at with arrows and suffered exhaustion, he was whole, so there was no strong emotion in this man's eyes.

These two people were always playing a tug-of-war with Jiang Cheng in the middle. Because of him. Because he had been brought to live there, so there was an excuse. Cheng was never quite as good, but that was only because they were different people. Comparing them was easy for an outsider. For an unsatisfied wife and a disappointed husband. If it had been possible, Wei Ying thought they should have just parted ways. But whether they parted or stayed together, the problem was not them, it was their children. The children, at least Jiang Cheng, belonged to the Jiang clan. That had likely made Madam Yu even more determined to make her husband place Jiang Cheng first in his mind, even if not in his heart.

Folding his arms, feeling resentment swirling in his stomach, Wei Ying realised in those moments just how spoiled they all were. He had not even been able to bury his parents' bodies. In the next weeks, there would be so much anguish and grief. He had less than a half-chance of stopping even one-millionth of that pain and suffering. He could only try. Yet, some cold and nasty part of his mind thought how nice it would be to just leave, to disappear, and let them all simmer in their own vanity.

Fengmian undoubtedly sensed that there was near murderous intent around him and did not reach out his hand. He spoke from a good three feet away, unlike his normal way. "A-xian." He spoke, in that welcoming tone, as if making it a caress. "Are you wounded? A-Cheng said you were hurt."

Looking up at him, from behind his hair, Wei Ying imagined throwing himself onto this man and bawling as he had as a young child. But he could not bring himself to move and merely shook his head. "No, I'm fine." He said, not wanting to have them touch his clothes. "I...just want to bathe right now. I stink."

He did. Brutally.

Even Madam Yu did not comment about that and he was allowed to use the formal bath. An attendant came in, laying out the clothes for him. Likely, that was Yanli's work. Madam Yu would rip out her tongue before having a servant wait on him...because, in her mind, he was a servant himself and unworthy of such things. But Fengmian and Yanli had always ignored that. He had no duties or menial tasks in a day, so how anyone could not realize he was special?

"Special, huh?" He asked, looking at the filthy water in the bucket before him. Having washed off the grime, he staggered to the basin and stepped into it. The warm water was delicious and he soaked for ten minutes before he began to fear he would fall asleep there and drown.

When he entered his room, Yanli had brought him lotus soup and was sitting there, smiling at him. He dropped the towels he was holding. He saw her as she was here, no longer a girl but a fully grown woman. She was older than Cheng, after all, so she would get no taller. She did look like Madam Yu, if Madam Yu had had a normal expression, but she also resembled her father. And then, he saw her dead...covered in blood and so utterly still. That final stillness that was beyond stirring.

Even with his robe slipping off and his hair all lose and sopping, he rushed to her and knelt. He put his face in her lap. He was not a seventeen-year-old prodigy, he was not YiLing Patriarch, he was not even Wei Wuxian! He was just Wei Ying, a little three-year-old child whose mama and papa had left him...who was not wanted by anyone...and crying because at least this person was nice to him.

She was quite startled at first, but then she just petted his hair. "A-xian..." She said, her voice somewhat franker than most girl's liked. Although she was pretty, she had a simple face and her likes were practical. She did not wear much paint or adorn her hair with expensive combs. Even her cultivation was not very high, but she was a contented person and genuine.

Anyone who could not see her worth was just being stupid, but many found her difficult to be around, as she was frank and down-to-earth. Cultivation was very low on her priority list. She did not need to be the best warrior or the best cultivator. She was content with just being a good person. And that was why he thought of her as very near to a mother, in many ways, rather than a sister.

Once he had stopped sobbing, he sat back and wiped his face. "Wei Ying is tired." He said, stupidly, as a little kid would.

"I see. Then it is time for you to lay down and go to sleep." She replied, humouring him. She had him lay on his bed there, making him drink the broth of the soup, and then sat beside him until he had drifted off.

Of course, she was gone when he woke up. But he had someone else there, sitting in her place, that made him sit up quickly. "Lan Zhan?!" He gasped, startled to the point his body had moved. He reeled and withered back, almost falling off the bed. Lan Zhan caught him and held him up by one hand. "Even now, you're strength is amazing." He muttered, somewhat jealous of that.

"Hm." He replied, looking away.

He was back to being coy.

Chuckling to himself, Wei Ying left out a sigh and looked at him. "You know, the Wen Clan will attack Lotus Pier now. Because I did that and because they would have needed to get us out of the way. I have no power to stop it. I can only minimize the damage when it happens." He clenched his hands. "Wen Chao was probably not the one, it was probably Wen Zhuliu."

"I think so." Lan Zhan replied. "A coward would not enter such a place without knowing what was inside. However," He looked down for a moment. "I am not certain about Wen Zhuliu. His ability is unique." He looked back up. "As you said, unique abilities are coveted...and feared."

Swallowing the disgust in his mouth, Wei Ying sighed heavily. "I don't want to think of us as similar, but I suppose we are. Melting a golden core...is fairly stupid. It would be so much better to rip it out and steal it away. But that is the fear behind it, right? So, to the Wen Clan, they are assets to be used, but they are also expendable. Especially Wen Chao, who is not intelligent or gifted with high cultivation." Chewing his thumb, Wei Ying frowned deeply. "Lan Zhan, there is a storm coming and I will do whatever it takes..." He looked over, feeling a little depressed and unstable. "...but I will be happy if we can fight together."

Lan Zhan blinked slowly, taking his time to think about this. He took a breath, clearly about to speak, but turned at the sound of someone outside the door.

The door was thrown open and Madam Yu came in, her expression tight. She checked herself upon seeing Lan Zhan, but she did not consider him much of a reason to hold back and folded her arms in annoyance. "You are restricted from leaving the building." She said, with some hostility. "I have heard the full account from A-Cheng already, so you do not need to brag to me. Although I cannot punish you, I will at least not allow you to move about and make things any worse. You should think hard about what you have done."

Stunned, feeling these words stab him all over, Wei Ying forgot that he was a transplanted older version of himself and hit the wall next to him. "What the hell is the matter with you?!" He demanded. "Why is everything always my fault?! Just stop it! I'm not responsible for every bad thing in the universe!"

"Did you, just raise your voice to me?" Madam Yu asked. It was genuine shock. She was dealing with a seventeen-year-old brat, whom she believed was weaker than her. It made her incomparably angry to be challenged in any way, but to be shouted at was a true disgrace, and she clenched her hands tightly. "Do you want to be beaten?"

Looking away from her, feeling like he could not communicate with this person, Wei Ying remembered how she looked the last time he had seen her. Dead. Still very beautiful, but dead. There was nothing much to say about a corpse, even a beautiful one. But that made him remember Jiang Cheng's sobs and screams. How he had gone insane...that had not been entirely for her sake.

Looking back at Madam Yu, Wei Ying suddenly separated himself from her. He could not support the mentality of a child when he was not one and he let out a long sigh. "Madam Yu, I am Wei Wuxian, not Jiang Cheng. I am not your child, I know that. But, I still feel respect for you. However, I don't have time to pretend anymore. I knew that there was some kind of plot when the summons came. That if the Wen Clan was summoning us up, there was a reason, so I volunteered to go with Jiang Cheng. Cheng is very cautious, yes, but he's just not that strong comparatively and he would have died in that cave." He glared at her. "Because they took our swords, starved us, and then took us to that place with only one way in or out. At least, they thought so. They did not know what was inside it, either, so you tell me? Is that not obviously an attempted murder?"

She frowned, looking sharply at Lan Zhan; he had his eyes closed and his head down just a little. He shared the same view, having been there, and she could not entirely dismiss that. "But you interfered when you should not have! Those other people are more important, is that it?"

"Well, yes and no." Wei Ying looked at Lan Zhan, admiring him, and then at his hands. "First, Lan Zhan here is my friend. If I see him hurt and fighting many people, I will help him. Of course, if someone attacked Jiang Cheng, I would even throw myself in the way, but that's different. They went after that girl, but Jin Zixuan was the first one to protect her. And then Lan Zhan after that. And then, as for me, I targeted Wen Chao." He looked over at her. "Because in that situation, they were being too noisy. We didn't have time or weapons. If we were going to survive, the only way was to secure a hostage. I learned that when I was four years old." He looked at his hands. "I watched the gangs when they would target merchants, you know, I understand the ways of the world rather well. But I shouldn't have to bring that up. What I was not expecting was that the monster would be _the_ Turtle of Carnage...but so what if it was? The real threat is the Wen Clan."

"You anticipated all of this?" Madam Yu said, gesturing. "And you still fail to understand that we are now a target because of your actions?"

"That is incorrect." Lan Zhan replied, opening his eyes. It was so blunt and final. His eyes were sharp, cutting through the dim light in the room. Although she was his senior, he clearly did not see her in a good light at the moment and his expression was rather closed. "If they did these things intentionally, then Lotus Pier would be attacked regardless. Wen Chao was only a ploy to dispose of an inconvenience. If there are no heirs left, then it is only a matter of burning another building..." And the reflected light from the window looked all too much like flames dancing in his bright eyes, as his memories of his home burning swelled up inside him.

Wei Ying nodded, putting a hand to his face and rubbing his nose; he felt sunburned and thought he had a fever. "Which is why Jiang Cheng couldn't go alone. Jin Zixuan did not go alone, either, and he lost two men. They were shot in the neck when they escaped the cave, undoubtedly acting as his shield. I saw their corpses." He sighed, shaking his head. "No, the debate is that you want to believe this is recent, but the Wen Clan has been plotting to do this for a while." He looked at Lan Zhan. "So they targeted the Cloud Recesses and smaller sects first, since they could not fight back, and then tried to wipe out the heirs...but that backfired, so they will just use any excuse to bring down Lotus Pier. Carp Town is too wealthy to start with and their Clan Leader is a bit iffy."

Lan Zhan's brows pinched and his light coloured eyes glimmered.

Slowly, Madam Yu's hostile expression clouded over. She was so intelligent that she could not arbitrarily dismiss their words. They were talking about her clan and her son. They were talking about them being in danger. And her instinct was very likely warning her to prepare, even by just a few moments, before it was too late.

Never before had she so resembled her daughter, either. She was not even all that old and had a smooth, comely face. Her hair was shiny and her eyes bright. Everything about her equalled beauty, power, and grace...but she was hard and non-conforming, so it took her longer to get there than others.

"Madam Yu..." He got up from the bed, staggering a little and taking Lan Zhan's arm for support. He had also risen to his feet. "...I will fight beside you. Lan Zhan, who lost his father, has the right to revenge. I will help him with that. But Lotus Pier is my home and I do love it. I cannot be a servant." He looked her right in the eye. "But I can be an ally."


	3. An Interlude of Indulgence

He was the wealthiest of the cultivators in his generation. Some said he was the best looking. From the time he had been old enough to comprehend it, he had been surrounded by the fairer half; the giggling of girls had just always been there. And he had always liked them to fawn over him. To indulge in him. So that he did not have to think. The world was a very scary place. He knew he could not exceed a certain maximum. He would not become immortal and he had no place calling himself a god...but, he was a son, the heir, of the Jin clan. Therefore, if he was anything but a skilled cultivator, he would become a laughing-stock.

His face was to thick enough for that.

So if people called him a player or even a whore, he was fine, but if they dared to imply that not even the wealth of the Jin clan could educate him, that was not fine.

He loved women. They were soft, stupid. The difficulty was when they started to think. To exceed their maximum. Like sleeping with him entitled them to something, anything. He could not begin to understand that. It felt so very ridiculous. He certainly did not expect anything from them, aside from common decency. Expectations were what lead people to unhappiness. And certainly, there were predictable outcomes, but whether it was cultivation or romance, who could depend on another person for their happiness?

Therefore, Jin Guangshan was not just surprised, he was disgusted, that there had been a woman who expected him to provide for her. Bad enough for those of his station, his clan even, to dare say such things. But for a prostitute? She had chosen her profession. Or, even if there she had been forced, she was hardly helpless. Would the brothel care if she left, got other work, lived in some socially acceptable way? What of her son, then? She could have gotten rid of it or had it and lived like any other mother. There were people with children everywhere. He had given some small amount for that, to the people in charge of them. Enough to shut her up, normally.

Because it really was too much trouble.

Absolutely, he could not take that woman in. He had paid her for her services, like any other prostitute. He had only bothered going to a brothel because it was a profession. He was quite shocked she had even gotten pregnant! They did have ways of dealing with that, he was very certain. If the regular women of the world could do that with herbs, then so could she. So, it was more or less a set-up, in his mind. He was only half-way certain, but it was a definite possibility.

As for the boy...well, there were problems. If he took the boy in, he would have to become a cultivator. Anyone inside the Jin clan had to live up to those expectations. Could the son of a prostitute do that? He had no idea. He did not care, either. He did not care if the boy just became a cultivator on his own, either, that was his own business. But he had no intention of clothing the boy in gold. The Sparks Amidst Snow was the only thing he fully intended to protect. He could not go handing that out to every single female that happened to have a child; that would be...like founding a whole other sect!

That was...not his job. His job was the run the Lanling Jin Sect. He did not even have to be all that good at it, he just had to do it. He had a small obligation to wife, but, since she was also from a cultivational sect, she could take care of herself. He was afraid of her, but not for the reasons others made up; it was because he knew that she could kill him if she put her mind to it, and he could not kill her. If he dared to do that, he would be a 'wife killer'. A man killing his wife was an attacker, but a wife killing her husband was probably a victim. That was how he understood the social normals of his time.

And their child was the heir, so he had to provide the essentials for the heir. Clothing, definitely; he would wear the gold and peony. Only Jin Zixuan would be acknowledged by him. Even if there were others, many others, who were just as good or attractive, they were not the heir.

That was the extent of his responsibilities.

Yet, since the lad was fairly useful, he did not hate having Guangyao around. He would provide a good spare for the heir. Zixuan was more important to the Jin clan, but...if he happened to die of an illness or injury at some point, then having a back up was a good plan. And Jin GuangShan felt like he had done his duty by handling the matter the way he had.

Even if others, outside the clan or inside it, made rude commentary. The boy would just have to deal with that as his lot in life. Since he had been the one to come up to the clan and ask admittance, so he had to take on everything that came with the Jin surname.

Drumming his fingers on the table, Jin GuangShan swallowed a sense of unease. The matters of the cultivational world were never simple. He tried to avoid most of the politics. As complicated as flirtation could be, as complex as a woman's defences, there was always a give somewhere. He could not find a give when it came to politics and had hated having to involve himself with the other sects.

The Qishan Wen Sect was so dangerous!

He knew that, but he did not know what to do about it.

The Cloud Recesses had been burned down! That was beyond what could be reconciled. He did not personally care about the Lan Sect or the Cloud Recesses, but it was clear something was happening. He had sent off his heir with the understanding that Zixuan would be safe. He would not be harmed at all. That was the impression he had gotten. It was just like a study camp where they would learn proper etiquette and practice their cultivation.

Certainly, if it was a measure of cultivation, then the Wen clan had to be doing something right. They were quite strong. Just that, during the last hunt, a few rare exceptions had proven to be better. Geniuses could not be classified. Even he just took it in stride that, compared to the Twin Jades, his beauty was typical. He was not offended and he did not feel it affected him at all. If he was not going to feel jealous of another man's physical self, then his cultivation was the same.

He had what he had, and that was more than enough, so he did not need to steal anything from others. Yet, if it came down to what he had being stolen from him, then things changed. Underneath it all, he was not calm. He was waiting for the fracture. He knew it was coming. But he could not do anything to prevent it. So instead, he sought to escape from it. Even if that was only for a night or even just an hour.

"Hmm?" Guangshan turned, smiling at the serving girl next to him. "Oh? How pretty." He said, thinking that she had done herself up rather well. She had made an effort, anyway. He was not that interested in her, but since she was offering herself...he did not think it was so bad to indulge one more time.


	4. Three Necessities

Tactics taught that, normally, one needed to have both numbers and a sound plan of attack to win a battle. The Wen, being the attackers, would automatically be at a disadvantage initially. Lotus Pier was not a fort. There was no outer wall, no keep, no fortification. It was built with commerce in mind and had open access to the waterways. Yet, even so, they had a few tricks up their sleeve, as it were.

First, there were the natural defences of the buildings. They were all wooden and would burn easily. Yet they had plenty of water around them. They could deploy into the water, either via boats or directly. There were, perhaps, less than ten people in Yunmeng who could not swim, aside from infants and children under three. Above four years, it was just rare that they would not spend half their play in the water, even among girls.

Of course, as a Cultivation Sect, they had an array. The array was inscribed on the foundation stones that the entire city was built upon. Most sects had one, but the scope and power of the array were unique. It drew upon the Dragon Veins in the earth, so the Feng Sui could aid or impede it; it also required specific steps to activate and maintain it.

Once activated, those using their spiritual energy to operate it would be unable to defend themselves. As it was, they did not have a plan for their protection. They just rushed to their designated positions at the first alarm bell. Once given the signal by the Sect Leader, they would activate it and just...remain there until the battle was over or they ran out of chi.

Ideally, four cultivators would be allocated to protect each of those activating the array. Two to provide defence and two to trade-off supplementing their yang energy. That way, while it would still come down eventually, it would take around seven or eight days before the cultivators were just too worn out to continue. It might permanently damage their meridians and could even cripple their bodies or minds...but if they saved the lives of everyone in the Sect, then what better death could they wish for?

But, in a protracted battle, it was likely the Wen Clan would prove victorious. Their overwhelming numbers were troubling. They could just keep on throwing pawns away until Lotus Pier fell.

And at this point, Wei Ying could not use zombies or ghouls to make up the difference. He could control them if he risked his life and mentality to do it, but his Core actually worked against him when it came to the Ghostly Path. Because, from his intimate understanding of the subject, the Golden Core was an organ made up of a physical part and a spiritual part. It was what turned a normal human, a mammal, an intelligent animal, into a cultivator. If he counted that as a form of mutation, then there was, strictly speaking, no difference whatsoever between a Golden Core and a Demonic Core in a mutated demonic creature.

The Golden Core was rooted in the naval and spine. The physical part aside, it only contained yang energy. Not yin. And Cultivation was taking in ambient particles from the air, circulating them through the filter of the body, and gathering the refined product in the Golden Core. The more one did this, the stronger and faster the process got, the more refined the Golden Core became. And, as a result, the body changed. Just like Demonic Beasts grew bizarrely large or developed horns or even psychic powers, humans became impervious to most harm and developed unusual abilities.

It was not, by logic, possible to fly on a sword. Yet metal conducted electricity. Yang energy was the power of the sun. The air was filled with it. But water diluted it and absorbed it and purified it. The earth ate it and gave it back in the form of fruits. That was the cycle of Yin and Yang as he understood it.

Then, why could humans not cultivate Yin energy the same way?

Why was Yin energy seen as bad?

It was certainly not because it was primarily utilized by females!

No, it was that Yin energy was the wilder of the two. It was deep, pervasive, cunning, evasive, and cruel. It demanded sacrifice, pain even. One could be half-assed with Yang energy, but never Yin. Just like the air flitted about flirtatiously and never settled in one place, and the sun was scorching but aloof in its sky, the earth did not accept compromises and the water would never forgive betrayal.

What had they given birth to?

Resentment.

That was where resentment came from.

Humans, caught up in the defiance of those forces and misunderstanding their lot in life, could only bitterly resent their pain and their desire. They wanted, but they knew it was futile. Death came for everyone. So, they wept. So, they screamed. So, they made love. That was all that was allowed for most humans. But of course, there was still mutation and cultivators just took the next step. They defied the Will of Heaven, the cycle of death and rebirth. But as far as Yin and Yang were concerned, they were not anything outside of nature, and that was why some did transform into 'gods'.

And some, like his mother, gave up immortality and deification for a simple life, spouse, and children.

Taking a deep breath, Wei Ying looked up at the night sky. He had been forced into it before, but now...what was the demonic path? Was it actually evil? Was it really ugly? He could not bring himself to think about it with hatred. He sat upon a table under the stars, just taking in the darkness. It was cool and felt good on his skin.

For himself, he had experienced the friction between yin and yang once and it had been so painful he had been unable to tolerate it. Back at the Cloud Recesses, when those ghouls had gotten loose, he had been forced to channel the excess yin energy in the air; his desire to not die had likely been able to connect with that of the zombies and they had ceased to sense him as a target for their resentment.

But he had almost stopped breathing.

That was the path that others said warped the body and mind. Like that Lan QiRen who was so holier-than-thou, it made people disparage him behind his back. The old fuddy-duddy certainly had a way with words. Wei Ying chuckled, but he could only nurse his resentment in his gut. It was difficult to think back on those times. He supposed that it was natural for others to think of it like that. If they had Cores, why would they need to think of another way? To legitimately question that 'other side'?

On the other hand, there was a major player on the field who could force them to do just that. Because Zhou Lieu could melt the Golden Core, just like ripping out an eyeball, so they may _need_ an alternative. Even if some were too prissy to get down and dirty, to crawl through the mire and accept all the pain.

If the Golden Core could be stolen, then what good was it?

Putting a hand to his naval, Wei Ying bit the lip that was trembling. Tears ran over his cheeks. He was afraid. It was not fair. He wanted to scream. He did not want to have to go through that again! But, since he had been through it once, he was the only one that could do it now. He looked at the markings on his hands, which were visible at the moment, and let out a sigh.

The Stygian Seal was waiting for him; he felt like it was egging him on by appearing there. Smiling at the pattern, he thought back over the last few days. After his dramatic conversation with Madam Yu, he had started coughing up blood and been put back to sleep with herbs.

Lan Zhan had gone back to the Cloud Recesses the following day, with unspoken promises to fight together when the time came. A tender feeling of trust had built between them, but it was quite fragile and Wei Ying honestly did not know if they would be friends or enemies in the future.

Because he had to make choices.

He had to prioritize lives based on how likely he was to actually save them. Taking matters into his own hands, because he was a demonic entity possessing his previous self's body, was not honourable.

But try as he might, he could not figure out how to save Lotus Pier.

Because the fact of the matter, which no one else could understand, was that if Lotus Pier did not fall, the Sects would not unite. It was a necessary turning point, the axis upon which all else rested. He chewed his lip, rocking slightly, pulling on his hair. He felt the skin under his eyes sinking further and he curled up around the feelings of self-loathing in his abdomen.

He wanted someone to beat him, to carve into his body that _he_ was going to burn Lotus Pier!

But before that, he had to make some arrangements. There were three things he needed. The first, he had just finished creating; a Core Stealing Array. The second was the Waterborne Abyss. The third was the Demonic Technique hidden in Burial Mound.

With those three things, he was certain he could crush the Wen Clan, even with their almost unlimited numbers. He did not know what would happen to his body, though, and he really could not say he did not care. He did care. But he also cared more for the people he was standing in front of.

Of course, those people were also a problem. They would think he had gone mad if they learnt he was planning to carve out his core. That was beyond just cutting his wrists or pulling out some hair. And beyond that, what he was planning to absorb into himself, would be seen as not just insane, but evil.

Thus, he had gone out to the abandoned floating arbour. It was very unstable and most people feared it was haunted. It was not haunted, though. It was just gloomy. The roof was mostly gone but the foundation was still intact enough for what he was going to do. He had anchored it so it would not move around anymore, in a secluded place far enough away that no one would hear him screaming.

Before, he had had Wen Qing's help, but he had never even met her as of yet. He hoped that he would get to meet her and Wen Ning soon, but he also knew it was not the right time. He needed power first. He had to strengthen himself and his resolve. And the first step was to rip out his core.

Moving through the mess of pots of paint, dead animals, diagrams and sigils, and brushes, he let out a sigh. On the floor there, he had drawn the array with a mixture of ash, bone dust, blood, and alcohol. It was missing just one brush stroke.

Taking off his robes and undoing his hair from the high tail he wore it in, he bathed himself in the urn next to him. Pure water that had been exposed to moonlight for three nights in a row. Then he moved to the array and seated himself in the very centre. With the brush, he completed the array and allowed his yang energy to flow into it. As soon as that happened, the array activated and began to suck up all his yang energy. He folded his hands, concentrating on the yin energy left in his body and the seal embedded in his flesh; the Stygian Tiger Seal was, fortunately, bonded to his bones and made up of infused yin energy.

A lot of it!

It ripped through his body and he gasped. Blood ran from his nose and his ears, but he forced himself to continue. The pain was not as intense as he had expected it to be. Although it was bone-shatteringly painful, it was not soul breakingly painful. The Golden Core in his body was forced out from his naval, just like he had given birth, and he hastily took it into his hands. He had prepared a special dimensional bag to house it so that it would not break or diffuse. He had a vague idea of what he would use it for when the time came, and that did not include Cheng needing a new one!

Then, shaking to the point of vomiting, he wiped his mouth and staggered from the arbour.

There were only four days before the attack on Lotus Pier. Before that, he needed to have enough power to bring everyone to their knees. And he happened to know a place that would give him power. A power that he alone could utilize. It was always there, waiting for someone to come.

He left a note in his room, just in case he was discovered missing, that he had gone to the remote caves to fix his meridians before the battle broke out. He even drew a picture of himself sitting on a rock located in that cave. Others would probably not go there to disturb him, it was very dangerous to disturb a cultivator of his level when he was aligning his chakras.

He did not go to the caves. He took a boat to Yiling, neighbouring Yunmeng. There, he approached from the side. He left his travel sack in an abandoned stone hut and climbed the mountain. His body was fevered, and he did not make the best time, but he got there in only thirteen hours. If he had been able to fly on a sword, this would have been a two-hour trip, but he had given that up for the present.

He had plans for a replacement, though.

Burial Mound reeked. It was not exactly toxic, but the air could cause hallucinations. He covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve and staggered deep into the ravine. He immediately stirred the energy of the place. People did go there to commit suicide, after all, either to escape pain, insanity, the law...or even lovers who just became desperate and chose their ends together. Infants and disabled people were thrown away there, too. And of course, there were the original inhabitants who dwelt in the deepest parts of the mountain.

When he reached the proper place, Wei Ying knelt. He wiped sweat from his brow. Although he was already nauseous and suffering a headache, he took out a small knife infused with moonlight and drew an array on the ground. It was massive. It took him two hours to complete it. Already, wraiths were swarming and weaving around, curious as hell about what he was doing.

He looked around, tears brimming in his eyes. Although he did not have the manuscript anymore, he had read it, and the knowledge had been inscribed into his soul. So, he could speak in that 'language'. "I call out...and recite binding words...and open myself to the void. I invite, I invite, I invite..." He muttered, cutting his hands with the knife. "...and offer up libation to the children of the universe." He looked to either side as the ground crumbled up to the edges of the array. They were there, paying him fixed attention. "You can hear me right? I will provide bodies for you to inhabit. I'll take you with me. I'll feed you blood and flesh. I will be your legs and your arms, your eyes, your vessel. To the Wen Clan that imprisoned you here, I will deliver judgement! Give me strength. Bind to me and be bound by me!"

He gritted his teeth as his arms and legs were seized. They twisted him around, seeking an opening. They found the opening in his naval and his ears and eyes. They swarmed down his throat. They entered through his hands. He did not writhe, but his body convulsed.

How many there were in Burial Mound, no one could know. A thousand, five thousand, ten thousand...he did not care. They kept on coming up from the depths of the earth, forsaking their mortal residue, and inhabiting his body. He did not have a core, so they could enter. Nor were they purified. His veins were swollen up with too much chi and he spat large amounts of blood onto the ground.

Collapsing onto his side, sobbing, Wei Ying hugged himself. He hugged them, too. It was cold, his body was so cold! He could only weep for himself. For a while, he drifted in and out of consciousness. It took all he had to finally sit up and drag himself to his feet, wiping the blood from his mouth. Compared to the flames boiling and melting his fat, and the wraiths ripping him into shreds, this was not much worse than a typical beating in the Cloud Recesses.

He wanted to rest, but he was short on time. He had one last stop to make. It was the most difficult and iffy. He had never bothered with _that thing_ before, but now, he wondered why he had ignored it. It was his first contact with the 'other side'. In a way, it had been reaching out for him; because while the Waterborne Abyss had pulled him into the water at Biling Lake, in Gusu, it had not left a mark on him.

A strange thing for a rampaging demonic entity literally made out of water to do.

Gusu was at a farther distance, but he could get there via the water channels. The tricky part was making sure no one recognised him. The Wen Clan was definitely out in force. He saw them everywhere in Gusu. With the Cloud Recesses burnt and unable to render aid, they were running amok and he spied them, kidnapping women, beating old people, and even killing regular mortals with gleeful grins.

He somehow doubted that was authorized conduct, even within the Wen Clan, but...it did not seem likely that anyone would stop them anytime soon. He could not do anything either, having disguised himself as an infected person. Someone with a disease was avoided even by cultivators. He did not bother anyone and no one bothered him. It took him an entire day to get to Biling Lake. There were only two days left before the attack on Lotus Pier if it happened at the same point; he doubted it would happen before then, but he could honestly not know that for certain and it made him nervous.

Biling Lake was vast and there was a powerful seal on it. It had not been drained, thankfully, and the Abyss was in a state of dormancy. Wei Ying walked right through the barrier; it snapped and whined and then burst. He had just brought in far too much resentful energy for it to house. The Lake seethed, turning a dark colour...but the Abyss was more curious than angered.

It did not sense a human, after all.

"I came back for you." Wei Ying said, feeling like he should treat it as a precious maiden. One with a temper. "I know not what you want. Your anger is vast and I could not understand your words. But, I believe that you understand me perfectly well, even if I speak human words." He reached out his hands, where the wounds had been sealed by the entities inhabiting his blood. "I will take you on and bare you. I have a good domain for you. Fight with me, and I will give you sacrifices in plenty. As much as you can hold."

The darkness took on an alarmingly human form and walked onto the bank of the lake. The wind was stirred and the sky darkened. The Waterborne Abyss was something that all Sects know about, but Wei Ying doubted that anyone, in any of the sects, had tried just talking to it.

Swallowing as the Abyss came up to him, taking his hands, Wei Ying shivered. It was like touching glass or water. But there was a more dynamic feeling to it. He shut his eyes, shivering as the cold intensified. For a moment, he thought he was drowning and collapsed to his knees. His hair shivered and coiled around him as if it was alive, and he realised that the Abyss had possessed it to avoid affecting his lungs.

But inside his mind, he saw too many death scenes. He felt each one. Being impaled all over by debris, drowning, eaten by oceanic creatures he had never seen in person...he cringed and writhed from the mental burden. It made his soul tremble. For a few moments, he almost fragmented because of it.

And then, a smell of sandalwood came to his nose and he blinked. White sleeves fluttered like flower petals in the dark. A single form was standing there, looking down at him with a shocked expression. His mouth was open and he was panting, sweat on his forehead, below the cloud motif ribbon. It was not the dignified Lan Zhan that had departed Lotus Pier four days previously.

"Wei Ying!" He snarled, coming over and seizing him by the shirt front. "What did you do to the lake?! The barrier is...what?!"

His hair shivered and coiled around Lan Zhan's wrists, capturing him. "Lan Zhan..." He muttered, licking his lips. "...you came to pull me out again." He smiled, chuckling. "I need it. I need it, so please, overlook it. I can't explain. I'm running out of time. It's already come to the point that I'm desperate. Please..." He seized Lan Zhan's hands in his, pulling him so close, their faces were only an inch apart. "...overlook it!"

Lan Zhan was very surprised. His eyes were very light in colour and looked gold in the moonlight. He shivered and cast them down, clearly uncomfortable. A faint tint appeared in his cheeks. "Release me." He said, in a stern tone. "I...cannot simply...overlook this!"

"You must!" Wei Ying insisted. "If it comes out now, it will all go wrong. And everything I've done, everything I've sacrificed, will be in vain! Lan Zhan, please, look at me! Ignore this!" He gritted his teeth, feeling in his heart that Lan Zhan would never agree to this. It was too one-sided. "For one week!" He said. "Even if it's just for one week!"

Lan Zhan moved his eyes back; his eyes were wavering. "One...week...?" He asked, uncertainly. "You will... explain it to me...at that time?"

"Yes!" Wei Ying nodded, actually bumping foreheads with him. "I swear I will come back to you and tell you everything!"

The tint in Lan Zhan's cheeks grew. He did not like being so near to other people and avoided contact as much as possible. He stiffened unnaturally and tried to pull back. He failed, being all twined up in someone's hair.

Taking several breaths, trying to calm himself and the Abyss down, Wei Ying swallowed the blood in his throat. "Lan Zhan..." He said, smiling at this person. "...only you found me. It means a lot to me. I'll definitely be able to get through it. When they come, and people are dying, I will survive. I will make sure that I survive so I can tell you all about it." He chuckled, thinking that he was repeating himself and Lan Zhan would only scold him.

Instead, he was quite shocked, because Lan Zhan nodded once. "I...will wait." He said, softly. "I will hold you to your word."


	5. Loyalty

Although he had hoped it would be difficult to get into Lotus Pier, it was not. Even though he was using ways he had learned from the Clan Leader, it did feel a little incredulous that he could come and go impervious to all suspicion while looking like he did. His skin was pallid, his lips tinted red, deep pits under his eyes. There was something about the way his hair hung down his back that was no longer natural; it was possessed after all. He rather felt less lonely as he walked, though.

He did not creep. He just walked down the halls; a wreath of shadows followed at his hem. The tips of his hair traced the wall as he passed. Just like a girl running her fingers along at the side. He smiled, finding that a bit funny.

Ah-Cheng was in his room, as per usual for the hour. It was extremely late. At this hour, if a man was not alone in his room, he was either cultivating or night-visiting. Slipping in, Wei Ying smiled at him; he was so helpless in his slumber. Any assassin could have killed him twice over. He looked quite young in that light; just sixteen years of age, yet he was an adult in his body and had to bear all those responsibilities.

Laying an array over him, drawn on silk and warmed against his own chest, Wei Ying allowed him to remain in a pleasant slumber. It would be a rude shock when he woke up. It would still be better than the alternative. While he was lifted and carried from his room, he supported Cheng with that ever-dark that welled up around them from the Abyss. It made it a bit cold, a bit humid. To the caves, Wei Ying took him, and there, lay him on some fur and locked him in secure shackles. An array on them would prevent them from being picked open with Qi.

This was the answer that he had arrived at after hours of mental simulation. All the way back from Gusu, expending so much energy, trying to think of a way. The simplest methods were often the best ones. If he was locked up in the cave, then the Wen Clan could not get at him and there would be no ordeal of him losing his golden core.

Then, he went to his room. Seating himself, Wei Ying looked at the simple features. His adolescent doodling had so angered Madam Yu, but no one else had thought it more than humorous. Two little people kissing. He took out paper now, letting his hands glide over the smooth white surface, cutting it with black. It looked more like the black welled up from within the paper, rather than was laid atop it.

Setting the images aside to dry, knowing they would all be burnt up, Wei Ying drew portraits worth gold coins of all his important people. Fangmian, Madam Yu, Jiang Cheng, Lan Zhan, Yanli...

Yanli was gone, as expected.

Fangmian was already gone, having left the day before. The conference was at some distance, and he had other business to take care of while given his measure of freedom. He typically dallied only a little while out of Lotus Pier. Many spread nasty rumours that it was to escape his wife's foul disposition, but Wei Ying knew another truth. It was because he went around seeking trinkets and presents for her. To ingrate himself, maybe. To appease her mood, maybe. But Wei Ying did not think that it was a genuine lack of love that stood between them.

Madam Yu and her handmaidens began looking for Cheng around noon, but not in earnest. He was not exactly under watch, despite the dire warnings Wei Ying had given to her, so Cheng was technically free to do and go where he willed. Ziyuan merely sighed and gave curt, snappish commands to the servants.

Wei Ying leant up at one of the central columns in the main hall, just watching everyone moving around. It was just like any other day. The servants were cleaning, cooking, running errands. The sentries were at their stations. When she saw him there in the hall, she initially set toward him to interrogate him about her son's whereabouts, but upon examining his face and expression, her instinct got the better of her and she retreated instead.

That was the first and last time such a thing happened.

Life was just going on and it genuinely seemed that they would pass the day in peace. Until they suddenly got word of a guest. A small group of people in the robes of the Wen Clan. Madam Yu came to a still, turning her head to acknowledge the messenger. Her eyes moved, back and forth, as her thoughts ran over everything she knew. Then, she looked sharply at him. It was that look of sudden understanding, of comprehending, that a woman could have at that moment. She swallowed thickly and his well-groomed brows drew together sharply; she turned like a whip, her sleeves rustling, to face the messenger bowing to her.

"Show them in." She said, in a tone that was by no means welcoming.

It was Wen Chao's woman, of course. Wang LingJiao would have been beautiful if she had not given herself to vanity and immoral sexual relations. Wei Ying knew that she was a coward. She had attached herself to Wen Chao because she needed a strong male to protect her. It was not even that she had actually fallen for the villain, or been seduced by evil, or even just overpowered as a woman. No, she was a useless woman, but she had chosen it for herself. And no one was more aware of it than she, herself. Because she knew it, she could dispense with anyone and everyone else to assure her own safety.

The complete and total opposite of Yu Ziyuan, facing her with a look of disgust and contempt. That famous sneer that she had passed onto her son was there in all its glory, and for once, Wei Ying found it beautiful.

Thinking about it, it was probably not wrong. Wei Ying looked back at Wang LingJiao and sighed. Choosing the Wen Clan was not incorrect. It was just that he was there, so her fate was sealed because she was connected to Wen Chao. Because she was a bitch. Because he did not like her smell or her face or the tone of her voice; these superficial things were like bonus points in a game of darts. The real reason he was planning to kill this woman, was because he had seen it; how she had grabbed Madam Yu's lifeless body by the head to tear off her circlet.

It was so ironic, really. He had seen that, but it had not happened yet. Madam Yu was alive and well, feet from him. Yet he knew it in his blood as a reality he had experienced. Wen Chao burning Lotus Pier, hurting Jiang Cheng, and throwing him into Burial Mound had been the impetus for everything that came after. So in a way, he could say that Wen Chao, Wang LingJiao, and Wen Zhuliu had dug their own graves.

Zhou Zhuliu, or Wen Zhuliu now, was with her as a bodyguard; or rather, as a plant. It was his job to kill the people activating the array, once the fighting started. Just looking at how he was positioned there, looking over the hall, was proof enough. Who would send in the Core Melting Hand unless that was, in and of itself, a threat?

Wei Ying looked them over, from where he was, emanating a cloud of murderous intent. The only things that were different were their hair ornaments. Wang LingJiao shuddered, walking backwards into Zhuliu; he did not want her and hastily abandoned her to stand in the open area of the main hall. He offered Madam Yu a slight bow, out of respect; he was a respectful man, even if he was a murderer and kept-dog.

LingJiao was complaining to Madam Yu. She had made up some stupid story. It was not a kite of a one-eyed monster this time, but some other, equally trivial thing. He rolled his eyes. Any points he had given this woman for intelligence, he now subtracted again. "Why don't you just admit that you're here to take over?" He asked, dully. "Please, spare us all your stupidity. He's out there, right? Wen Chao."

Zhuliu stiffened, his eyes sharpening at this.

"Oh, hold up there, big boy." Wei Ying lifted one finger, which looked quite morbid even to his own eyes. "Let's be civil. We all know why you're here. It's not like you can expect to hide it at this point. Your master's ambition knows no bounds, so let's all just be honest about that, at least." He nodded. "And your own power is something awesome that happens only very rarely. I did want to ask you one question before we get to the fighting part, though. Did you know about the turtle of carnage before we entered the cave?"

He paused, his aloof expression caught off guard by the question. Slowly, as he debated if it would be wrong to answer, he put a hand to his chin. "I did not." He replied, in a soft tone. "Why do you ask this of me? It is of no consequence. If I knew or not, I would still follow my master's orders."

Wei Ying nodded, thinking that it was remarkable how loyal this man was. He was very curious about why. He did not think that it was out of fear, but rather, some twisted form of profound respect. "Yes, you're a loyal dog. Wen Zhuliu...right. The Zhou family wasn't a bad one, but I guess it pales in comparison to the Wen Clan. On the other hand, that's on your side. You aren't the only loyal one." He lifted a hand. "So you, of all people, can understand that if you attack Lotus Pier, I will murder you for it."

"You cur!" Wang LingJiao butted in, her shrill voice echoing. She even did the ultimately rude thing of pointing at him. "You cut Wen Chao! You're a filthy barbarian! I _demand_ that justice be done! Madam Yu, punish that horrible man!"

Madam Yu's eyes glittered. Hearing him speaking, as an equal, to someone like Wen Zhuliu had to have unnerved her. She could not account for the sudden, dramatic change in his appearance and attitude, either.

Wei Ying swung around to glare at LingJiao. "Yes, yes. 'Cut off his right arm' was it? You'll give us the honour of being annexed right? Isn't that what you're here to say. I wonder, did you say something like that to the Lan Sect Leader at Cloud Recesses before you burned them down? Did they give a shit if you asked nicely?" He lifted both hands, the Stygian Seal showing on his pallid flesh. He had taken off his handguards because they were itching him and also so that the intimidating array would be visible to everyone. "You're a few days late, I'm afraid. If by some miracle, Wen Chao had arrived four days ago, you would have had an overwhelming victory."

Zhuliu immediately caught on. He knew what such words meant. They were 'expected' and therefore, all of Lotus Pier was an armed camp waiting to entrap them. Which was precisely why he and the useless female had been sent in first. Wen Chao might be an expendable pawn in the greater scheme of things, but he was still the son of the Sect Leader. So Zhuliu took on the burdens he was not suited for, while Wen Chao was just a figurehead; LingJiao was cannon fodder at that point.

Rather than run out the side hall, Zhuliu ran right at his target. He wanted to take out the male in the room first. Madam Yu did not do anything initially. She stood back, watching as Zhuliu ran at him, gold threads of Qi weaving around his right hand. Only when she was sure he would strike did she bring out Zidian...but she sadly underestimated how fast the man was.

That right hand hit him in the solar plexus and the gold threads penetrated deep into his stomach. Wei Ying felt the impact on his body and some air was knocked out of him. Had he been out in the open, he might have stumbled. But with his back to a post, he could not stagger and merely looked at this man up close, with a nasty, vindictive smile spreading over his features.

Wen Zhuliu frowned, his eyes looking up sharply. "What _are_ you?!" He demanded, loudly, in shock for probably the first time in his adult life.

"I'm complicated." Wei Ying snapped, grabbing him by the windpipe. "That right hand of yours is valuable. By no means does the Wen Clan trust you or need or care about you. You're just a liability to them. That's why you were also thrown away into that cave. Your hand wouldn't do jack shit against that thing, would it? Or me!" His hair was weaving in the air around him and the flames in the braziers around, illuminating the entire hall, turned a vivid, acid green. "Switch sides. Join me. Worship me. I'll at least make sure you don't turn into a rotting water ghoul."

It was genuine fear in the man's eyes. However, he was not a coward. He struggled, his eyes on the tendrils of hair moving of their own volition. LingJiao ran out the side door screaming. Just like before. Wei Ying turned, watching her go; he let her go. "The flare." He muttered. "So Wen Chao will charge in when that flare goes off? Yes, and you're task is to bring down the array, right?" He looked back at the man he had caught. "I know everything. I can see it; the future. Or rather, I just know it."

"Your...golden...core..." Zhuliu managed to speak, but it was rough from the hand compressing his windpipe. "You don't...have...a golden core?!"

Madam Yu, who was preparing her handmaidens for combat, turned sharply to look at him. "What?!" She demanded. "Wei Wuxian?! Your golden core is...?! Did you go through some kind of Qi deviation?!"

"I ripped it out." Wei Ying replied, smiling at Zhuliu. "If there is a man on their side that can melt them, then I don't need it. And as a matter of fact, neither do you." With his other hand, his right hand, Wei Ying put just his fingertips to his navel. Using the Yin energy he was overloaded with, he excised the core and dropped the man to the floor.

Wen Zhuliu's scream ripped through the whole of the hall. The handmaidens flinched, tucking themselves up behind Madam Yu. Even she stood staggered against the sight of the writhing man on the floor, coughing up blood and sobbing. "My core..." Zhuliu managed to flip over and get onto his knees. "My core..." Tears ran over his face.

"Yes, I can take them out whole and intact." Wei Ying looked down at him. "Really shouldn't be that much of a shock to _you_. I wonder if yours is bigger than Wen Chao's. Probably, you seemed pretty powerful. Shall I rip his out next? Seems like a fitting end for him. Then, once he's completely useless, the Wen Clan will kill him off." He turned to look at the door, thinking it was about time to move outside. "Hmm..."

"No!" Zhuliu caught his hem, spitting out blood and even putting his forehead to the floor. Once, twice, even four times he banged his forehead on the floor. "Don't do that! Have you any idea what the Wen Clan would do to us?! I am...the last...of the Zhou family. But they adopted me and gave me a name. Yet they are merciless like the seas. Even if you have no compassion or mercy for your enemies, please, I will even beg you! Death in battle is at least not a disgrace!"

He had a point there. At this moment, Wen Chao had only obeyed his Clan Leader. He was the filth of the earth as far as Wei Ying was concerned, but he had not yet actually committed any war crimes. Neither had Zhuliu. It came into Wei Ying's mind that, if he was not very careful, he would end up being the truly evil one. The despicable tyrant of the battlefield that showed, and therefore deserved, no mercy.

"Fine." Wei Ying dragged Zhuliu to his feet. "Become my puppet. I'll bind you so that you cannot move freely. The son of the Sect Leader I will leave for later on; he is a noble and deserves the respect to his ancestors, even if that is only in name. Will you submit to me?"

"I...will submit." Zhuliu shut his eyes, clearly hating it. Yet, he also seemed relieved. His loyalty really was impressive.

Shoving the core back into him, while at the same time affecting the nerves in his neck and spine, Wei Ying let the Abyss do most of the work. He created a zombie for the first time, right there in the hall of Lotus Pier. From a living human who hated him more than anything. Zhuliu was already incredibly powerful, but as a zombie, he would be even better. Which was the point. Wen Ning would never be replaced in his heart, but Wei Ying did not want to let him be killed a second time; and in any case, he needed a Ghost General much sooner than that.

The roar that the now zombified Zhuliu let out shook the foundation. Wei Ying smiled, patting his bloodless cheek with one hand. "Now, fight for me." He said, right in his ear. "If you want me to keep my hands off Wen Chao, then kill for me."

He shuddered, taking a few faltering steps.

Then, he broke into a run.

In the background, there was the crack of a whip. Avoiding the arch of Zidian, which came dangerously close to his face, Wei Ying turned to look at Madam Yu. "What?" He demanded. "Don't tell me you're in a righteous mood? They came here to murder you."

"You turned that man into a zombie! That is...the demonic path!" She shouted, her expression livid. "I will never tolerate anything like that! That is...pure evil!"

Unimpressed, Wei Ying shrugged. "Do what you want. It's not like you can kill me." He looked at his hands. The Stygian Seal was all excited and wanted blood. The Abyss wanted blood. The many endless wraiths in his blood wanted to rampage. So, he nodded and moved out the doors of the hall. Already, smoke was rising. As he had thought, the array was weak. Even with Zhuliu on his side, there was no way to save Lotus Pier; because his existence was also tied up in the fall of their citadel and the start of the war.

Before him, there were endless numbers of white robes. Faceless blobs to him. Zhuliu let out a roar to his side, his head back, mouth open wide, hands twisted into claws. His hair was loosened and the people seeing in his new form him shuddered, clapping their hands to their ears or their chests as the terror affected them. Many of the Wen Dogs collapsed onto their knees, sobbing at the sight of him. They believed they would not only die, but lose their cultivation, and so they fled. Even the might of the Wen Clan was by no means as scary as that fate.

"Hm. Now..." Wei Ying smiled. "...let's have some fun."


	6. Sect Leader

The smoke blotted out the sky. The up-glow of the flames against the night sky, the haze of the smoke, the rivers of blood feeding into the water, and the piles of corpses...the scene was enough that some people lost their minds from the sight of it. Above, the sky was full of carrion birds, which swooped down now and then to tear off some clump of flesh. There were still battles taking place here and there. Those with purple and black robes and those with white and red were no longer strictly even in numbers. The Wen Clan was slightly better off. They had lost the most people initially, but once the shock of facing zombies wore off, they had simply crippled or dispatched them as per usual and kept fighting.

Fighting a defensive battle, to give the civilians and as many sect members a chance to run as possible, was Wei Ying's goal. The civilians had fled already. Those that remained would remain forever. The Sect members, however, were of two kinds. Those who had fled to guard the safe retreat of the civilians...and those who had gotten caught up with Madam Yu and were still putting up a resistance.

Instead of leaving it to the undead, who could not die again, they were continuing to fight. Madam Yu was not fighting with him. She refused to work together to save as many lives as she could. From what he could understand, she was just ignoring him and what he was doing. She wanted to win against the Wen Clan with righteous methods, with her own prowess and the strength of her sect. That was all fine and well, yet she could not and even she knew it.

Wei Ying was exhausted after so much abuse to his body and soul and the three hours of battle he had been over-seeing. He could only control so many for so long. Roughly five hundred at the moment. But that was just ridiculous and he did not even have that many zombies on the field. He had around fifty, plus Zhuliu. Each Wen Dog that fell was a potential hound for his devil's breath, and he could only smile at the sight of it; when the enemy shuddered as their friends and allies rose up to turn against them.

That was his own perversion, though.

Turning away from the field, Wei Ying looked at Madam Yu. "I am going to retreat." He informed her. "I'm out of Qi. Even Yin Qi needs time to cultivate and replenish itself. If you don't retreat, you'll die here." He was not certain of that, but he did think it was the most likely scenario. Since she was 'supposed' to have already died, the timeline was off. He had cast wide, intense ripples. Yet just because he changed one or two things did not mean fate could not still have its way.

She turned to give him that famous purple glare. Her numbers were down to around a hundred men and only ten or so women. Without the undead guarding them for so long, they would have already been overwhelmed. Now, when they were already exhausted, she knew they could not continue without assistance. "Wei Wuxian." She muttered, her nose wrinkling. "Retreat? And what about Lotus Pier?!"

He cast his eyes over the burning buildings. "More than sixty per cent is down. It's a loss." He turned, moving away from the range of the arrows still coming in small bursts. "You want to see them again, right? Your children." He glanced back at her. "It is up to you."

Leaving her was hard only for the first few steps. And, after five minutes, she followed after him with the last of the sect's members. Some, with fatal wounds, chose to stay to help their retreat. The undead did the rest. Pressed a little for time, Wei Ying sighed. He was not good at tedious things and this was the tedious part. He had to collect Cheng from the caves before the Wen Clan overtook the entire mountain. They needed to secure a safe place to regroup and fortify themselves, too. And there was something to be said for gathering provisions while they had the chance. They could hardly take the time to hunt, so they would have to buy food and possible water, but with what? They only had the clothes on their backs. Therefore, along the way, he had the undead gather as much gold as they could. They were not impervious to harm, but they were much more resilient to flames and falling timber than he was. They dragged out small bags of gold, coffers, swords, pulled jewels from people's ears, or fingers, or necks. Sometimes with their ears or fingers. The amassed wealth would be enough to buy food and medicine for a while, anyway.

The cultivators following along, with Madam Yu and her handmaidens in the lead, were jumpy and depressed. They were all partially broken. To them, it was a defeat. Wei Ying could not comfort them even a little because his throat was full of blood. He spat some out and continued to move to the caves. The undead blocked anyone from coming in with him, just in case they upset the array on Cheng and did him harm.

Wei Ying deactivated it. Cheng did not wake immediately but came around slowly. When he looked up, his eyes narrowed. "Where...am I?" He asked, groggily. Then he smelt the smoke and the blood and sat up. "What?! A Cave?! _Not again_!" He naturally also harboured some fear of being buried alive again.

"Sit still." Wei Ying snapped, pushing him back down. "Listen to me. You've been asleep for all of the night and day. It is the night following the one you fell asleep on. You are in the cave to the north of the Pier. All of Lotus Pier is on fire and over-taken by the Wen Clan. Luckily, the civilians made it out. Around eighty or ninety per cent, anyway, so that is our victory. Right now, your father should be on his way back. My next move is to meet him up and explain to him what is going on. Here," He thrust Cheng's sword into his hands roughly before turning to spit out more blood. "There will be some encounters, very likely, as the surviving Wen Clan disperses into the surrounding forests. Kill every single one you see, preferably before they see you. Got it?"

Cheng looked at his sword. His eyes were wavering. Turning to the opening of the cave, he ventured out in a daze. He could see for himself, from that position, that it was the truth. Tears rose and fell down his cheeks. "My mother?!" He asked, sharply, turning to either side. Spotting her at a short distance, he rushed over to her, bowing to her very low. "I...I am..." He could not even bring himself to say he had been asleep the entire time.

She put a hand to his cheek, looking him in the eyes. For her, it was a relief because he was not a zombie or a corpse. But she was covered in blood and she was a harsh woman, so she did not say comforting words or encourage him. "You must not associate with that man any longer." She spoke very low and carefully, her expression tight. "He has become a demonic cultivator and even turned these people into zombies. Either he lost his mind or he was always deviant. As the Clan Leader's son, you cannot be friendly with such a creature."

"Said zombies that kept you alive." Wei Ying retorted. "I'm going to meet said Clan Leader now. I know about where he should be. It could be a bit off course, though." He looked toward the river and had the water ghouls drag out the floating armada for him. He walked onto it with Zhuliu, grabbing Cheng by his robes on the way. "You're coming too. I'm not risking you to some incompetents."

"Let go of my son!" Madam Yu snarled, cracking Zidian at him.

It hit him on the shoulder, ripping his robes. The blood welled up and the electricity raced through his arm, forcing him to let go of Cheng spasmodically. Then, the wraiths inside his body pulled the edges of his flesh together and sealed them. No scar was left on his body from the brutal blow. Only his clothing told the tale of it. He turned, looking at Madam Yu for a long moment.

Cheng sensed it, perhaps, and grabbed him. Although he did probably agree with his mother, he was terrified of the energy he could sense, and of Zhuliu who was right here, and the water ghouls, the zombies, the fire, and even the dark. Thus, he stepped onto the armada to protect his mother, even though his legs were trembling.

Smiling, Wei Ying shut his eyes. "Thank you." He said, softly. "Thank you for being a good man, Cheng."

"One of us has to be." He retorted, sharply. "You swore you would never do that again!"

"I did. I meant it." Wei Ying looked down. "Circumstances can change, you know. If it's a choice, I will choose you. You're my brother." He looked him in the eyes. "Don't you understand by now? You are my _brother_, Cheng!" He stressed it, meaning that to him there was no one else to even have a bond with because his parents were dead.

Cheng, by some means, likely stress-induced, seemed to take it as a literal statement. He registered a shock for a moment. Then he swallowed and looked to the side. "Brother." He said, softly, in a tone his mother could not hear.

She had been forced to come to the bank of the river, debasing herself by joining the undead loitering there. The only reason she got onto the armada was that one of the sentries spotted Wen scouts in the tree line. For certain, she wanted to go and enter combat with them. Yet at the moment, she saw him as the greater threat to her son and followed after him.

Cheng sat on a box the entire time, just trying to put the timeline together. The sect members who were present filled him in on the high points of the battle. He was very shocked and devastated. Of course, he inquired about Yanli; she had not been there, but no one knew if she was safe or not, no one knew if the Wen Clan would have targeted her singly.

"She should be fine." Wei Ying replied. "If she got to Jin or Lan she'll be more than protected. Especially Jin." He looked at Cheng. "I don't like him, but he's not a cad and they are wealthy. They have a proper military force and Carp Town is harder to attack. There are, km, also a lot of women there." He looked away, not sure how he felt about the Jin Clan Leader's philandering around.

He did not think he cared that much.

They all fit on the armada, but only just. It was moving faster because the water ghouls were pulling it and the Abyss was reducing the water friction. They made good time as a result and came upon the ship with Fangmian on it in just fifteen minutes. There was something of a hue and cry on board as countless water ghouls weighed down their ship...and did not attack them. They were all with swords drawn already, as they had seen the up-glow of Lotus Pier by now. They had been preparing to mount their swords and head off to save the day...or die trying...but now were preoccupied with an invasion from below.

Cheng clamoured up over the side and rushed to his father. Madam Yu went up on her sword, much more elegantly, and even bringing her handmaids as side-along. Everyone went up that way or climbed up. He simply floated, though, because he was using yin energy which drew on the hydrogen molecules in the air. To him, it was funny that people called it flying when the principle was completely different. Flying was to force against gravity and ride the air currents. What he was doing was more like water-walking and he did think it was sad that even something like that was seen as evil.

Now that she was there and Cheng was more protected, Madam Yu turned around to engage him, but Fangmian had already rushed to him. His face was pale as a ghost and he reached out, taking hold of his hands to examine the seal on them; then he looked at his red pupils and the way his skin was bloodless. There were tears in his eyes. "I should have protected you better." He muttered, looking aside. "You've done it, haven't you? You did this to protect Cheng and everyone."

"Yes." He replied, honestly. "So could you please start doing your job from now on."

Gasps rose from those who heard him, including Cheng. Madam Yu's jaw dropped. Never once had anyone sided with her about her husband's tendency to abandon ship. She certainly did not expect it to be he and not at that moment.

"A-xian." Fangmian did look hurt by the statement.

Shaking his head, Wei Ying sighed heavily. He turned just a little, looking at the up-glow. "Lotus Pier is gone. The roof collapsed in the main hall. Some parts are still good. It could be rebuilt. But its not there right now. All the people that escaped, I don't know, but a few hundred have survived. Cheng is alive. The Sect will continue. That's the important part, right? But what is a Sect without a Leader? The Lan Sect lost their leader. Lan Zhan didn't get to be there when he passed. Hundreds of small sects have been burned, their leaders with them. It can't be me." He looked over, narrowing his eyes. "I drugged Cheng and hid him in a cave. I kidnapped your son from his own bed and no one noticed. No one. Not even one person." He reiterated it three times just to make his point stick. "Cheng, he's fairly blameless. I mean, he's just sleeping in his bed like always. But honestly, at this point, the only reason the Jiang Sect even existed anymore is because you are still alive."

Fangmian swallowed, glancing at Cheng. He frowned, looking down. Again, he was at a loss for words. He was wracking his mind, but experience had taught him to give up before actually speaking. It was a difficult moment, and his hands clenched slightly as he tried to make himself speak. It was almost as if there was some handicap in him that made his throat seal off.

"I know you don't like me!" Cheng abruptly shouted. "You don't like my mom so you don't like me, either! But I'm still trying my best, too. I've also been shot at with arrows and almost died of exhaustion. I was also in that cave with that damn turtle! What an ill-omened day that was, indeed! Since then, everything has gone wrong for us." He folded his arms, his face all scrunched up. "The Wen Clan...I know well how powerful they are, I do! We cannot be too careful in fighting them. I don't approve of or condone using demonic arts. But I also cannot deny that something had to be done. Father," He faced him, taking on manhood at that moment. "If you chose to lead the Sect into battle, I will fight too. I _won't_ be hidden away again!"

Fangmian frowned, lifting a hand to his chest reflexively. "Who has said that I don't like you?!" He asked, somewhat outraged; everything else Cheng had just said was secondary to that one appalling truth. "Is this what you have come to believe? The relationship between me and my wife seems to be everyone's business, yes, but I did not think that you had had such poison whispered into your ears. I love you and Yanli very much, just as I love your mother." He said it aloud. It drew some mild surprise from just about everyone, but mostly Cheng. He honestly did not believe it and scowled defiantly at his father. "Oh? I see." Fangmian was now also getting angry. "Well, if everyone must speak of it, then why can't I? My home is burning! The hall of our ancestors is burning! But if we must discuss this instead, then so be it. The living take priority anyway." He gestured. "So there! _I love my wife_!" He called it out loudly. "Does anyone have anything to say about that?!"

There was colour in Madam Yu's cheeks. Probably, in her girlhood, many men had shouted their love for her. Yet, her husband had never shout anything in her presence. He rather spoke her name, but instead, called her only 'lady'. That was both a cute thing to do and a rather rude thing to do. She swallowed, a bead of sweat on her face. Her expression said she rather thought he had gone mad.

He reached into his robes, taking out a jade hair stick, and walking up to her, Fangmian shoved it into her messy hair. "There!" He said, firmly. "And you have never looked more beautiful to me." He added, wiping some blood from her cheek. He turned to look at Cheng. "You too, you are not unloved or unliked by me. Well, loving someone and agreeing with someone are different things. I am a person and I have my own opinions. I am not going to compromise them just because that person happens to be my wife." He nodded again, folding his arms. "I do dislike confrontation, especially when it is perverse and pointless. But this and that are separate matters. There is absolutely no choice but to fight, now. What of Yanli?" He looked around, counting that she was missing.

"We hope that she has escaped them and gotten to the Jin family." Cheng put in, very softly. He had never seen his father act like that and wiped his forehead as if he too thought his father might be insane. "And...well...right now we're here because Wei Wuxian insisted that we come and meet you up." He gestured off-handedly toward the zombies.

Fangmian looked at them, taking in Zhuliu with some surprise. "You do nothing by halves, A-xian." He muttered, adjusting his robes and swallowing his nerves. "That is quite the trophy that you have, ah, got there."

Smiling, Wei Ying patted Zhuliu's shoulder. "He's my General now. It's fine, he won't attack unless I tell him to. However," He lifted a finger. "This power is not absolute. I'm not a god, dark or otherwise. Which is a pity; I can control a certain number for a certain length of time. Then, I have to stop. Because if I wear out completely, the rampaging undead will not be able to differentiate and just start doing what they normally do. They are just dead bodies that are moving around with my energy and their leftover memories and resentment. Zhuliu, as an example; he's stronger than the others because of how he was made into a zombie, but that also means he's a bigger liability for me." He lifted a hand. "So just like anything else, my powers are just a component. I can't win the war alone, just like you can't win the war without me."

"Excuse me?" Madam Yu frowned at him. "You think very highly of yourself, saying that we cannot win against the Wen Clan without you. As if it were some assured fate. Whatever this power is or can do, it is a demonic power. We cannot associate with such methods! Then we would be even worse than the Wen Clan who uses unjust means!"

"Then you will die." Wei Ying stated it. "I'm not talking about just you, I'm talking about all the sects combined. Even with all those forces, the Wen Clan's power and might still exceed the limit. Even with a margin of just dumb luck, you'll come out under. I'm just making up the difference. It's not like I'm bragging, I'm summing up the situation." He lifted a hand, which was shaking just a little. "Or, what? Are you saying you can just walk over and take out Wen Ruohan tomorrow?"

"Of course not!" One of the handmaidens put in. "You are too arrogant, even speaking to the Madam like that! That is a sure sign you have given yourself to evil's ways. How could the Wen Clan be that strong? If the Sects unite, then they will be defeated, because that is obviously the greater force!"

Sighing, Wei Ying turned away. He moved to the side of the boat and seethed there. They were basically in denial. He could not completely blame them. They had not seen what he had. He looked back at them, remembering at that moment that he had made a promise to Lan Zhan to return within one week. That was now only four days. He rather wanted to see Lan Zhan, maybe sit quietly together or play music.

Music.

"Oh, right." He muttered, to himself. He would be able to control the undead much more easily with the flute once he made it. He scolded himself for not remembering that sooner. Compared to the seal, he had used that flute so often, yet it was just a flute. He had almost entirely forgotten about it during the crisis. "I need to do something about my memory." He looked around, thinking someone had once told him he forgot things too easily. "Yiling is it? Okay. I'll leave. If that's easier on all of you, I will fight separately, but in-concerto. We all have the same goal. When the time comes for a council, send word with this thing..." He flung his hand out and a black stringy thing, a darkling, coiled itself around Cheng's wrist. "...it will come to me by the fastest means, as it is a part of my person. I will come and participate in the liaison."

"On what authority?" Madam Yu asked, folding her arms up again. "You speak as if you have some right to participate in anything! You are not a Sect Leader!"

"I am now." Wei Ying replied, coldly. "I am the ruler of Burial Mound, after all. That's where my power comes from anyway." He lied through his teeth so that everyone would assume the power came from that place and did not reside in his soul. He did not want another power struggle over the Stygian Seal if he could avoid it. He put his marked hands together in the standard form of greeting and bowed only a half-inch or so. "Greetings, Jiang Sect Leader. I am the Grandmaster of the Demonic Sect."


	7. Friendship

Remember Folks!

Da Shixiong (大师兄) - the eldest senior brother / the first to become the disciple

Hanguang-Jun – Wang Ji/Lan Zhan

ZeWu-Jun – Xichen /Lan Huan

Wei Ying – Wei Wuxian

Okay, that's all here, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Yiling was pleasant to traverse when not as pressed for time. Wei Ying arrived at Burial Mound and first found himself some wood. There was a specific type of wood that grew there, a rich black, that contained a high density of Yin energy. He then staked out an area for tents and eventually houses, and then found the Demon Slaughtering Cave. It was just a hollow area in a jumble of rocks, but with his so-called demonic energy, he carved it out a bit. He etched an array into the stone walls, ceiling, and floor so that no one could come and go easily. Not without his permission. Eventually, he would use this as the base for a large scale array just like the other sects had, which would pull on the Yin energy of the earth.

"Another cave." Wei Ying muttered, rubbing his temple. "Cheng would probably hit me again."

His declaration on becoming a Sect Leader had received mixed reactions. Fangmian had simply accepted it and let him go. He had never been all that interested in forcing someone to be his servant just because of some warped sense of fidelity. Madam Yu...would probably never speak to him again, but he was fine with that. Cheng was confused and emotionally unstable because his home had been burnt, so his punch to the lower jaw had not been entirely unexpected.

It had still hurt, though.

A Sect of one was not that important and had little might or worth, but he was himself an army. He could not be easily killed. He thought he was fairly crafty, too. Having faced death once already, he had the upper hand. Even Wen Ruohan had never come that close or suffered that much. He expected that, if he just went for it, things would turn out better. Before, he had been trying his hardest not to found a Sect or be called a Sect Leader. Only after a lot of time had passed, and others had made up the rules for him, had he just accepted it. He had had to if he was going to feed and clothe everyone.

He had the chance to just do it right from the start now and he thanked the Stygian Seal for bringing him back in time. It was a chance. If he failed again, he would only have his own ineptitude to blame. Which was precisely why he was not screwing around and determined to get it right.

But that was for later.

As Wei Ying headed out from Burial Mound, toward Gusu, he let his presence be felt. The Wen Clan had spread the word for him. That there was a demon on the loose and it would capture people and turn them into zombies. Some stories never changed, even if the people reciting them did. He expected people to scurry out of the way, to avoid him; that was how it had been before. Yet, instead, when he was recognised as 'that one', people came and gave him offerings. He had fought the Wen Clan and they wanted to support that. To the common folk, not blessed with cores, the Wen Clan were the greater demons.

Gusu felt clean. Wei Ying headed to the lake first, since he had presumed that was where they were supposed to meet. He had cut it close to the one-week deadline, but he had not broken his promise. To his dismay, Lan Qi Ren was there, trying to put up another barrier. Lan Zhan was not there, but there were other senior disciples gathered around, monitoring the lake. They all had stern, dour, and suspicious expressions.

"Why would Hanguang-Jun cause such a disturbance and argue with Lan Qi Ren?" A thin-faced youth asked of the senior beside him. "It is very dire to involve one's self with things of an evil nature. Rumours are abounding all over Yunmeng that some demonic entity has appeared. Only, I am not trying to gossip, but I am worried." He looked down, his hands shaking at his sides. "The Waterborne Abyss is a deadly creature...we could not fight it at such a time. So why would Lan Shixiong come here and break the barrier?"

"We do not know that he did." The elder youth replied. "Only that he will not speak one word about it, so some came to believe he had done so. It could be that the barrier just broke through some natural phenomenon. That is why Lan Qi Ren has come to investigate and repair it if possible. As for Hanguang-Jun, it is a fact that he has not been well since ZeWu-Jun's return."

"Yes, indeed. Forgive my fulsome speech." The younger bowed three times toward the sect, to show respect for the elder brother he had been talking about.

Glowering, Wei Ying slithered away from Biling and headed to the sect. He could not enter without permission, but getting permission would not be that difficult. He did not even have to threaten anyone, either, as just as he was coming up to the entrance, it opened. Lan Zhan was there, holding himself up on a pole, his face pale, brows pinched. He was dressed formally, as usual, but he was visibly weak and in pain.

The people guarding the gate stared at him when he appeared, their mouths opening in shock and consternation. "Lan...Lan Wang Ji..." One of them muttered, in his surprise. "Km, excuse me!" He bowed low when those sharp, piercing eyes rested on him. "You are...not...permitted to leave..." The guard was trembling and clearly did not intend to try stopping him if he wanted out.

"I have business to attend to." Lan Zhan replied, but his feet did not cross over the threshold. His eyes lifted to the sky. He seemed to be weighing the timeline and what would happen if he did leave against orders. Slowly, he looked down. He could not bring himself to do it, in the end. "Wei Ying..." He muttered, his brows pinching.

Surprised to hear Lan Zhan speak his name so forlornly, Wei Ying immediately stepped out from behind the clump of rocks. A slender tree grew from out of them, so it was easy to perch there and not be seen by the gate. Particularly at the moment or if they were distracted.

He walked up to the gate, drawing alarm from the two wardens. They cowered back, trembling all over, thinking him to be some kind of undead himself.

"Lan Zhan." Wei Ying said, leaning forward and looking up at him. "I'm here, as promised. If I could have a cup of tea and a dumpling, I'll tell you what I could not tell you before."

There was, Wei Ying thought, a little relief in those light coloured eyes. "Hm." Lan Zhan turned, exposing his back. There was a tint to the white of his cloth. His back was bleeding. He was unable to straighten his back because he had been punished. Likely with a green bamboo switch. Poles were used for the normal sort of punishment, but if they wanted to make the lesson stick, they would switch to a littler, softer implement. To make the blows bite. This would cause actual breakage of the skin and could leave scars unless one used cultivation to heal faster.

Wei Ying held himself back only until they were out of view of others. Once they were in a private, separate room, he walked right up to Lan Zhan and put a hand on his shoulder. He flinched and the blood seeped into his cloth, turning it red. "Shit." Wei Ying removed his hand and forced him around so he could take hold of the edges of his robes. Peeling the cloth back from his shoulders, drawing shock and distress from him, Wei Ying examined the lash marks. They were not as bad as he had feared but still worse than they should have been. He imagined someone in white robes bringing their arm back and hitting Lan Zhan with some cruel switch, and his blood started heating up. "Why did you not tell them it was me?" He asked, stonily, laying his hands over the bleeding cuts and sucking all the Yin Qi out of them.

As his pain was reduced, his back straightened, and Lan Zhan was able to talk normally. Or as normally as he ever did. "Because it was a promise." It was that simple to him. His word. His bond. To him, there was nothing all that important about a few cuts on his skin. But breaking his word? He could not redeem that or heal from it.

Touched by his loyalty and moved by his honour, Wei Ying smiled. "Yes. Promises should be kept." He looked up, knowing that was not always possible. "That's fine on your side, but what of the other? Why would they do something like this to you when it was only a matter of time?"

"Time waits for absolutely not one." Lan Zhan replied, stoically. "Not you or I. Wei Ying, you are in peril." He pulled up his robes and closed them with his smooth wide belt. "Are you flesh or spirit?"

"I'm just a person." Wei Ying shrugged. "So equal parts flesh and spirit. Someday, my flesh will decay and become nothing. My spirit...I honestly don't know. I don't care. That's not important now. I'm not dying or dead. And, even if I was, I have work to do. Were you in isolation all this time?" He was not sure how much Lan Zhan knew about Lotus Pier and him founding a sect.

"I know only that, perhaps, that person is closed-minded." Lan Zhan said something rather amazing there and he looked disdainfully away. It was a sentence most people would take no note of, because it was hardly insulting or scathing enough, yet when this man said it, he was insulting the foundation of 'that person's' existence.

He turned toward an inner room, across a hall from the separate room they were in. All of the Cloud Recesses had been damaged in the attack, but there were still places like this that was virtually untouched by the fire. Thus, they were still able to live there. Provided they could tolerate the smell of smoke that had permeated the paper and wood. "My brother returned." Lan Zhan said, speaking very quietly. "He has gone out and gathered many allies, all smaller sects. It is a good thing and gave hope to everyone. Yet, he was injured and is now ill. At that time, I made a promise to you. Yet, then I was questioned and my brother returned. The timing..." He looked at his hands thoughtfully. "...I was punished for arguing with a senior."

"I see." Wei Ying nodded. He could picture it all rather well. If he had imagined such a thing happening, he might have found it amusing. Now that it had happened, now that he could see the sadness on Lan Zhan's face, sense how helpless he felt, he could not be amused about it. "Your brother is still alive right now, correct? Then, I will see him. If I can help, then I will. And that will pay back the debt we have. I knocked you off the wall once and got you in trouble. Ah, no! Even if you took on the burden yourself later, I did that because I was grumpy with you. You broke my jar of wine, you see, so I wanted to get you for it." Getting up, Wei Ying moved to the other room and found the man at ease on a floor-bed.

On a table, protected by glass, there was a single lamp burning. So that he could take comfort when he opened his eyes. A man that might die did not want to wake up alone in the dark, even if his fate could not be changed.

Wei Ying stalked up, cautiously, eyeing the body before him. Just as a body, as a system, a mechanism, he studied it.

Investigating corpses to make zombies typically began with the condition of the limbs and bones. Flesh and organs came after that since undead did not need them. However, if they did not have any, they would rot faster. Thus, Wei Ying knew quite a lot about the body and how it worked and what to do to get it working when it had stopped. While zombies lacked blood flow and were technically dead, they did not continue to rot or decompose. Ghouls, on the other hand, were in a perpetual state of decay. That was the difference between them. Thus, water ghouls were a disgusting species in particular, and likely, people abhorred them just because of how they looked.

Lan Xichen was as beautiful as his younger brother. He had a kinder face and normally smiled pleasantly at the world. He was currently in repose, his face pale, his hands limp. He was alive, but his wounds were serious; he was having trouble breathing and his blood flow was not good. His fingertips were a little blue. They were leaving him alone so as not to keep him riled up; a sleeping death was the best they could hope for. The only one with him was Lan Zhan, his brother by blood, to nurse him or to cover him and light incense if he passed away.

It was an injury Wei Ying had not anticipated. That had never occurred in the previous timeline. Immediately, his mind went through all the people who might have become injured as some kind of compensation. He had saved countless lives at Lotus Pier...did that mean that others would take their place?

That made little sense, as Lan Xichen was not dead.

He was just injured.

Wei Ying pursed his lips, thinking about that for a long moment. He could not start worrying about ifs during a war. It was the worst enemy, thinking too much. Instead, he was here, and he could do something about the injury. "He's going to need some blood." Wei Ying said, looking at Lan Zhan. "He's lost too much blood and that's why he can heal himself. Blood flow and Qi flow are linked, remember? Well, and he has a hole in his body. It will take some time and it would be quite painful, but we can plug it up if we have a donor. Someone related to him or who just happens to be a match."

"Match?" Lan Zhan asked, kneeling beside his brother on the other side. "Blood...I will give it."

"Right." Wei Ying smiled and chuckled. He would not have thought something like this would ever happen, yet they were there, doing something like that! Right in the Cloud Recesses, no less! "The mother is the best match. After that, the father. Then siblings. Then cousins. And, stretching into the infinite, there are random strangers out there who are as good as cousins or siblings. It is a strange thing. I do not know what that component is, but I suppose all humans originated in just a handful of tribes or clans. And then they grew and grew, fragmented, moved all over, mixed in together with each other, and today we don't know who is a relative and who is not. It's too massive. So, we just focus on the ones closest to us and not the ones farthest away. Even if, when you think about it, we are all relatives."

Lan Zhan's brow twitched. He looked at his brother as he shuddered. "Shixiong." He said, softly.

Transferring blood was not a difficult process with the proper equipment, but without it, it was a lot trickier and harder and riskier. Luckily, they were alone and the procedure went uninterrupted. Lan Xichen was much healthier looking after the infusion and even opened his eyes for a few moments. He focused on Lan Zhan, his expression becoming relieved for some reason.

"ZeWu-Jun?" Wei Ying spoke to him, drawing his attention. "Hello. I, Wei Wuxian, know a method to help your wounds heal very fast. It won't mend them entirely, but you will not die, either. I did this for Lan Zhan once, too. It will be a bit painful. But, it is not an evil method. There is nothing untoward about it. No one else will come to harm because of it. Do you agree to it?"

He frowned just a little, his eyes shifting back to his brother. He got a nod. He turned his head back and also nodded. While ZeWu-Jun prepared himself mentally for pain, Wei Ying sat lotus and gathered his energy together. He made a show of regulating his energy for the patient's sake. Then, he turned to Lan Zhan. "I need to borrow your Yang energy. His wounds are more serious than yours were. It'll also go better because you are his brother."

Lan Zhan nodded yet again, holding his hands out to his brother. He placed them over the wounds at his chest, the most serious, and gathered his Yang Qi. This flowed into the weaker man gently, in a warm cascade, and his colour improved even more. With a serious injury, increasing the blood volume and speed could be dangerous, as it might overtax various organs or cause him to start bleeding again. Therefore, they needed a regulator. Slowly, Wei Ying added in his energy, pulling the Yin out at first, but then just maintaining it at a constant level. Between the two of them, they minimized the side effects and the pain and sped up the healing to the point Lan Xichen could sit up on his own.

"You are dehydrated." Wei Ying said, absently. "You'll feel dizzy for a while. Drink some bone broth later on. And," He frowned. "You should not cultivate for a few days. Just to make sure Yin and Yang stay in balance."

"Yin?" Lan Xichen asked, looking at him. "Heavens, you are very pale." He seemed troubled by it for a moment, now that he could see it and comprehend it. Then he smiled; his normal, usual smile; which set Lan Zhan more at ease. "Hello, Wei Wuxian. Thank you for helping me. For what do I owe your assistance?"

"Huh?" Wei Ying was genuinely startled. "Oh, ah, well...nothing, really. Just that Lan Zhan is my friend and...ah, I basically think you're a good person." He shrugged, not sure how to talk to this man. He was a person now, not a patient. More than just a body. They had never really spoken that much in the past, either. "Oh, and, well, we're both Sect Leaders now, so...I guess it's a good thing if we're on good terms."

Lan Zhan looked at him sharply.

"Yes, yes, I founded a Sect yesterday!" He waved a hand at the intrusive look. "I was going to tell you about that, too. But first, I'll settle this matter of Biling and the Abyss. Because someone had to go and take things too far. You should be allowed to not say it if you don't want to. You are that type of person that would have a reason, right? They all know that. So someone just had fun hitting you with a stick." He seethed at the floor, his hands clenched. "How dare they!"

Lan Xichen was frowning at this exchange, his brows pinched just a little, one hand on his wound. It was still there, so he felt the pull of it. Yet his expression was fascinated and he even assumed a bemused smile. "I see." He said, looking down at the cover over him. "Km, about Biling, may I know what happened?"

"The barrier around the lake was broken six days ago." Lan Zhan replied, promptly. "At that time, I went to see what had happened. No one else could go. My survey ended when I ascertained there was no threat to the surrounding area or the sect. I returned. I was seen coming and going in the night, which is against the rules." He looked down, heaving an almost imperceptible sigh. He did not want to speak on the rest, clearly, but he gave a very brief account. "I spoke to a senior on this matter. My involvement was...considered by some to be against the rules. As rules had been broken, I was escorted to the hall of punishment. There...a senior...decided what to do with me."

"And you were beaten for this reason?" Lan Xichen asked, in utter confusion.

"It is because he would not tell them who or what had caused the barrier to break in the first place." Wei Ying put in, his arms folded. "Lan Zhan, you are very loyal. I like loyal people, I do. But, there is also a sense of obligation to point it out when people are wrong. Heaven knows I've learned that a few times." He looked away, muttering a little at the last. "Km. Anyway, that was me. I broke that barrier! Biling Lake is perfectly safe, although people may still drown there by accident. It is a very deep lake with a lot of kelp at the bottom."

"You?" Lan Xichen asked, turning to glance at him. "Why would you do this?"

"There was a necessity. I needed the Abyss." Wei Ying said, honestly. "Well, I was only going to tell Lan Zhan about it. He came and found me and I promised. But, since you are here and he was hurt because of all this and we do need to address it at some point, I will tell you what I think." He folded up his legs, sitting in a sloppy, but more comfortable position. "I think The Abyss is hugely misunderstood. It is sentient. There is an intelligence there, which other natural forces do not have. So, while I cannot understand the words used, there is a type of language. If it can use language then it would naturally try to communicate with other sentient beings. Which is why it kept on pulling people into the water. Humans, however, drown. In just a few minutes. And, as for regular folks, they don't exactly listen properly. Even most cultivators just start flapping around and making rude noises, don't they?" He gestured, flapping a hand. "It's the same with zombies. They have a reason to do what they do, even if that is something we living people cannot understand. But if you pay attention, it's not as 'mindless' as people like to say it is. And if there is a motive, there can be appeasement. Just that sometimes it's 'too big' or 'too devastating' and people, living people, humans, call it 'evil'. If the appeasement is killing someone, as an example. Well, I'd call that a private feud, but others wouldn't. They say that it is 'not allowed'." He sighed, shaking his head. "Well, that's only true if you are stronger than the other side. Like a zombie, you could probably win against. Maybe a few dozens of zombies. The Abyss is not like that."

"True, it is a terrible force." Lan Xichen replied, blandly. "So you came to see if you could communicate with the Abyss. Because we cannot do that, we fight it or rather confine it. Were you able to do it?"

"I cannot speak that language, no. But I was able to communicate." Wei Ying smiled. "You haven't noticed, but I forgive that. You were hurt. Ah, this." He indicated the ends of his hair. It was twining along the edges of the covers. The ends were investigating the area around him. It looked like someone playfully crawling their fingers across a table. "I thought 'she is quite angry' and so I offered her sacrifices in plenty. As many as she likes. She can have them, I don't mind." He smiled, feeling that was a good compromise. "So, while I am a human, I am technically possessed. I have control over most water, though, and I won't drown. She won't let me."

"What?!" Lan Zhan and Lan Xichen had identical expressions.

Lan Zhan turned away, his expression disappearing, and he assumed and even more prim posture. It was clear he was as rattled by his outburst as he was by the cause for it.

Lan Xichen looked at his brother, a knowing and slightly annoyed expression on his face in place of shock. "Hmm." He said, then sniffed and turned back. "That is an almost outrageous thing to say, Wei Wuxian, but by wit or insanity, I believe you. And the attack on Lotus Pier was as rumoured, full of strange incidents, because of this power you absorbed. Certainly, I can think of nothing as powerful as the Abyss. In a watery domain, it would be nay invincible." He paused, troubling over his wound for a moment. "Excuse me." He took several breaths, making himself remain calm. His outburst had put too much strain on his lungs and heart. "Well, if there is no threat any longer, we should be thanking you." He gave a seated bow.

"Hm, yeah. Thank you." Wei Ying nodded.

"You do not look satisfied with that." Lan Xichen observed.

"What about your brother?!" Wei Ying demanded. "He was hit! Oh, it's not your fault, but..." He sighed, looking out the door. The courtyard was pretty. He sighed and looked around while he cooled his zeal. "That 'senior' is going to come back soon. And then, what? Will Lan Zhan be put through another interrogation? It's not punishment if you do it for the wrong reasons." He gripped his hands into fists, thinking about the bitter parting with Madan Yu in the precious timeline and all the subsequent 'punishments' he had endured from just about everyone.

Except for Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan had just taken a stance and maintained it, never going to excess. That was his loyalty, there. Wei Ying realised as he observed Lan Zhan, who was trying not to let out he was watching and listening intensely, that that was his way of showing friendship.

Smiling, Wei Ying nodded to him once. "Thank you, by the way." He said, feeling now was as good a time as any to say it. "You're always finding me."

"Hm." Lan Zhan gave his usual response.

Lan Xichen sighed, rubbing his face. "Why don't you two go and take a walk." He suggested abruptly. "I would...like to freshen up."


	8. Before the War

The Sunshot Campaign. It started from a collection of desperate sect remnants that grouped under the names of four powerhouses. The GusuLan Sect, the YunmengJiang Sect, the QingheNie Sect, and the LanlingJin Sect. It was not fair to say any were more worthy than the next; they all contributed more than a kill-count against the QishanWen Sect.

The GusuLan kept their dignity in the face of brutality, never stooping to the same lows as their enemy.

The YunmengJiang contributed determination and rage. To scream and howl with their swords against the wrongs done.

The QingheNie had provided that old salt of tactics and willingness to go down swinging. To cleave the enemy, bit by bit, even if they fell in the same blow.

And the LanlingJin could only be lauded for providing the bulk of the war chest and the lies needed to divert attention.

However, the war itself had to be won by battle and the kill-count mattered because it was a war of numbers. A war based on skilled generals was laughable compared to the war of abolition, and both paled when the war of numbers rose over human civilization. Thus, there had to be a fifth player to wheedle down the opposing armada, else the smaller forces, however righteous, however angry, however shrewd, however wealthy, would not survive.

Wei Ying looked at the council around him. The previous time, he had not been present for this. The last time, Jiang Cheng had just become a Sect Leader after the holocaust of Lotus Pier. Last time, Lan Xichen had not been injured to the centre chest and unable to stand. These facts were churning in his mind as he sat uncomfortably beside the table arranged for YunmengJiang Sect.

Fangmian smiled and nodded at him, seeming to like the arrangement, but everyone else was glowering. Madam Yu was, thankfully, not present. She was at the fort, leading the troops, and probably much happier there. Cheng was present, but his eyes were glued to the board and he was currently nursing a very bad mood. A fresh cut on the back of his hand indicated he had been in battles since that fateful night.

It seemed that no one wanted to accept a seventeen-year-old as a Sect Leader, least of all when he was openly calling himself a demonic one.

"Why did the oh-so-righteous Lan Sect even allowed him in?!" Nie Mingjue demanded, in his short, ill-tempered voice. He was a stern-looking man, rather less beautiful than handsome. He did have his share of admirers, but they were fewer in number than those admiring the Twin Jades. Not that he cared. He was much more interested in battle and debate than romance or even his appearance. "Demonic cultivator, it's laughable! The point is, you just want to intimidate the enemy, right?! You're not seriously going to walk the ghostly path!"

Not sure if he should respond to that, Wei Ying pursed his lips. He kind of wanted to start laughing maniacally, half wanted to cry, half wanted to curl up and take a nap. Since coming to the Cloud Recesses, he had felt less ill and his body had become less painful. There was a lot of yang energy in the air and that regulated his overwhelming yin energy; all he had to do was sit lotus and breathe for a few moments.

"Are you ignoring me?!" Nie Mingjue demanded.

"Allow him time to formulate a fitting response," Fangmian said, softly. "He is doing the best that he can for his age. If not for this young man, I would not be here today. Undoubtedly, I and many hundreds of my clan would be corpses under the Wen's feet." He looked down, sadly. "I admit it, yes. Lotus Pier is an utter loss. We are making use of our ancestral halls further afield, an old fort. A-xi...km, Wei Wuxian has lent us aid in a time when we need it most."

"Yes, yes, but that's the problem! _He_ lent _you_ aid...but what kind of aid? Zombies, right?" Jin Guangshan gestured with his cup, his expression a bit lazy. "In any case, Lotus Pier's problem is a dire one. I can concede something needs to be done; those wretched Wens even threatened to annex my Carp Town. I mean, really? But, what can we do? If we do unite, is this...this demonic practitioner...going to be more of a liability than an asset? It's not something anyone can control!"

"I agree." Lan Qi Ren put in, stoically. "It is deplorable! He should be confined and purified or..."

"'Or killed'?" Wei Ying asked, turning his eyes to Lan Qi Ren. He was certain they were burning crimson as his passion ignited. "So you'll confine or kill what you don't like? Rather like the Wen Clan, isn't it?" Gasps rose from many at such terrible words when they were all seated in the main hall still damaged by fire; the rafters were exposed and some internal walls had been shorn-up. It was nothing as it had been just six months previously.

"Can you speak to flippantly?!" Someone, some nameless, faceless man called out angrily.

"Yes!" Wei Ying snapped. "In this world, there are few heroes. All men are fallible. I won't say that I'm any different, either. Well, I think this is because you don't even know what 'demonic' actually means, but...if you aren't careful in how you speak, then you'll end up becoming precisely what you hate."

Even Lan Qi Ren was somewhat astonished to hear such words from him.

There was a very long pause, in which many people exchanged murmurs. They did not like it and they were all stubborn folk. By nature, Cultivators tended to have something wrong with their personalities. It was not necessarily because they were cultivators, either, but rather they became cultivators because their strong wills and sharp minds could walk no other path.

"I think..." Lan Xichen put in, drawing attention because it was hard for him to speak. "...that we need to consider two points. The first is that we need allies and are not in a position to be choosy. Oh, I do not condone evil. Not of the Wen sort, not of any sort. Yet if someone is willing to fight at our side, I would rather welcome them." He nodded once. "The second is that we do not fully understand how Wei Wuxian is using this title. As I understand it, he has not harmed anyone through these methods, apart from the Wen Clan. He did not seek them out, either, but defended Lotus Pier. This at some cost to himself, surely." He lifted a hand to indicate his appearance and the risks involved. "Therefore, to set our minds at ease, can you please explain what you mean by 'demonic cultivation'?"

As he was being very polite, and because Wei Ying did not want to be murdered again, he swallowed and shifted his upper body a little. It was hard for him to sit in an upright fashion for long and he ended up folding his legs and tipping is head back. "Excuse me." He gestured his wiggling aside. "Well, yes. I think I can. But, I'm not sure if you'll all just take my word for it. It's so ingrained that it's something bad..." He pursed his lips, then smiled. "...so let me have a little pity. I'm going to just talk like I usually do; if that's okay?"

"Oh, please. Get on with it!" Nie Mengjue put in, rolling his eyes and folding his muscular arms.

Nodding, Wei Ying swallowed and lifted a long pale finger. "What is a demon? It is a spirit. It is the part that cannot be seen. So, something hidden or mysterious that has power. Perhaps a great power or perhaps a dark one." He shrugged. "Demonic, as it is used by most people, is just 'scary thing'. Some people give it a bit more credit and mean 'scary intelligent thing'. But it's just a thing because they don't care to define it further. So, well, I use it to mean 'a dark spirit that is powerful'." He nodded once. "I use my soul, or spirit, to cultivate. It just happens to be dark. It happens to be powerful. But, that's all it is. It is not good or evil of itself, just like any cultivation. Like the Wen Clan, for instance; they are cultivators who do evil, but they are not evil cultivators."

"Isn't that splitting hairs?" Jiang Cheng asked, very quietly, from the far side of his father. "It is, right? If it kills you, it's not exactly the best choice! And that's what it leads to; premature death." He glowered at the table, his brows wrinkled, but really, his eyes looked hurt.

"I'm not sure about that. I think that's because people are fundamentally greedy and it's not like something powerful is going to be easy. I'm not suggesting that any random person randomly assimilate resentful energy; that would be quite stupid." Wei Ying returned diplomatically. "Look, it's easy if you want to think it out. What about Qi Deviation, then? How do you compare that? Is it demonic? No one says that. But that kills people. I am doing something you all call demonic, but I haven't gone through any kind of deviation. I just had internal injuries so I was coughing up blood." He dismissed that. "What's so wrong with it if it's something I _am_ able to do?"

"Because it goes against the natural order of things!" Lan Qi Ren erupted, struggling not to pull out some of his hair. "I warned you of this before! That the cultivational world would not allow your existence if you walked such a path!"

"Arbitrary bullshit." Wei Ying snapped, lifting a hand. He turned to glare at him, somewhat furious he was dragging this out. "I remember that; you threw a book at me!" Sighing, Wei Ying rubbed his temple for a moment. "Look, it's not about what others allow or not. Technically, all cultivation goes against that s-called 'natural order', because it causes some kind of complex mutation which, ultimately, turns humans into some kind of 'other' that we all conveniently called 'gods'." He lifted his hands. "Take that to a good place or a bad place, it doesn't matter, it's up to the individual. I can do what I want to do with my own soul. It's mine. It doesn't belong to you. If you want to talk about good and evil, then stick to what people do to other people. Like murdering them, or raping them, or stealing and lying. How about kidnapping? How about slavery? Well, it happens every single day. Quite a lot of cultivators out there commit those crimes, you know." He looked over the entire hall. "And that's what brought us together, ironic though that may be, because we all see it as wrong. It's never as simple as the 'natural order of things'. Because, by that definition, evil is a natural force we're all capable of, so we should just give up and go home."

"That was a little excessive." Fangmian pointed out, gently. "However, I understand your point. I am not as concerned with that half. I am worried about what effect it will have on you, yourself. You do not look well." He frowned, his sigh one of a parent rather than a fellow Sect Leader.

Looking over all the people around him, Wei Ying suddenly felt a bit better and smiled. "Thank you." He said, nodding to Fangmian. "Thanks to ZeWu-Jun, as well. Allowing me to stay here has helped me heal faster." He made a seated bow to the other man, who smiled in return. "Anyway, the question was 'what is demonic cultivation'? I got a bit side-tracked, sorry. I think of it as a system. If I had to give a very, very simple definition, it is the use of Yin energy in place of Yang energy. Yin energy can guide or control resentful energy whereas Yang energy cannot. That's it." He lifted his shoulders. "I'm not the first, nor will I be the last." He propped his chin on his hand and drummed his other hand's fingers against the board. "Rather pitiful, in a way. I had theories, but I really didn't intend to do anything with them, and I was content to just live my life as best I could. Always aspiring but never ascending. But, the Wen Clan hurt people I care about."

"That's the only reason?" Nie Huaisang asked timidly, from behind his brother. His very round eyes looked shiny and full of admiration. Although he was a weak person, he was not precisely a coward. He sought different ways to live. For him, life was complicated and uncomfortable, but he still tried to have fun when he could. And while he feared his elder brother, he also cared deeply for him. "Then, you won't, um...turn anyone here into a zombie? The rumours say you can turn even living men into zombies! That's very scary, Shixiong."

Smiling, liking this man even if he was a bit of a flake, Wei Ying felt that he needed to be gentle to this one. "Yes." He nodded. "I can. It is...very disagreeable, but relatively simple. If the human has enough resentment and submits, then it's not that difficult." He shook his head. "And no, I won't do that to any of you. Or anyone at all, actually, unless I absolutely need to."

"There are rumours you did." Nie Mengjue growled, his eyes blazing. "Doing something like that because you 'need to' is what we normally call evil. Because who is certain of such a need but yourself?"

"Did you really turn a living man into a zombie?" Lan Xichen asked, in a slightly thick tone. It was hard for him to even stomach the words and his hand hovered over his injury. For a moment, his expression was panic-stricken and it showed, but it was only for a few seconds. Then he assumed a very sad expression, his eyes sliding to his younger brother.

Lan Wang Ji, sitting beside him, looked incredibly wan and his hands were balled up into fists.

Wei Ying hesitated just a little, not sure if it was wise to bring that out. He did not want to tell them the precise method, definitely, and they had not asked for that. They just wanted to know if he could, if he had, and if he would.

"Out with it!" Nie Mengjue snarled, hitting the table with his hand.

"Wait for a little." Fangmian put in. "A-xi...Wei Wuxian, it is perfectly fine to explain that to them. I think it is good for everyone to know that part." He looked over. "This took place during the battle at Lotus Pier. I saw that fierce corpse myself. I also saw how it is controlled. While I dislike it, I do believe I understand the basic premise. It is very unpleasant talk, yes, but I think it is important to remain as unbiased as possible, precisely because it is very new."

"You're very forgiving, but then you did take the child in." Nie Mengjue commented, eyeing Fangmian. "You say you saw it? And you did nothing to stop it?"

"I...felt that that would be the wrong choice," Fangmian replied, frowning. He struggled with his words for a few moments, his expression tensed. Finally, he let out a small sigh. "Sir, my home was one fire. Of my wife and son, I was assured, but of my daughter...I did not know. There was no time or place in my heart for the troubles of the enemy." He gestured it aside. "Even now, some hundreds are simply missing. I pray they remain hidden until it is safe for them to emerge, as we have done."

Everyone was very sympathetic toward these words. It balanced the load and focused them on reality. That it was not just someone creating a zombie, but someone doing it on a battlefield. There were choices made under those circumstances men would make nowhere else.

"All right." Nie Mengjue nodded, with a short sigh. "We won't ridicule beyond due, then. Wei Wuxian, you brought this man to his knees...and turned him into a zombie. Obviously, this would make him rabid, but you say you can control him. So you turned him into a weapon, essentially, and made him fight for you. But this is very strange to me. I had heard some little rumour you were good with a blade and your cultivation first-rate for your age. You were among the top young masters during the archery competition, too. Then why would you _need_ to make this man into a zombie?" He was to the point and showed his intelligence off to one and all.

Smiling, Wei Ying brought his hands together and rubbed them. "Yes, I'm rather pleased it went as well as it did. That man was very loyal, which helped because he understood his lot in life. Pity, if Wen Ruohan had used him a little differently we probably wouldn't stand a chance." He even giggled. "That Wen Zhuliu."

Gasps and minor pandemonium ensued. Some just refused to believe it and began muttering into their sleeves or their cups. Others began cheering or crying in relief. A major opponent who could cripple their bodies and cultivation was no longer a threat?! Even if they would normally have thrown-up at the idea of any man being turned into a zombie, they were only overjoyed that it was Zhuliu.

Nie Mengjue lifted his eyebrows. Three times he tried to speak and three times the din in the hall interrupted him. Lan Qi Ren was almost purple from the disorderly conduct of his disciples.

Lan Xichen first slumped in momentary relief to know he would not have to face the Core Melting Hand, but then grew somewhat grey around the edges and pressed a hand to his chest. He could not allow his Yin or Yang to go out of balance for even a few moments, or else he would become extremely ill. He might even experience Qi Deviation or die on the spot.

Lan Wangji seized him by the upper arms to help him regulate his Qi.

Turning to look at Fangmian, Wei Ying caught a slightly disapproving look in his otherwise calm expression. "You do have a way with words, A-xian." He commented, speaking below the din, but loud enough to be heard. "It may be wise to point out, to both you young men at my sides, that tact is an invaluable skill."

Biting his lips, Wei Ying only just managed to hold back his mirth. "Yes, Uncle." He said, very softly. "I will try my best."

Finally, Nie Mengjue banged both his fists on the table before him, cracking it down the centre, to restore order in the hall. The boom of it frightened several people. The silence following was rather tense. The angry man shot looks at the rowdiest of the people, but he collected himself, shook out his mane of hair, and cleared his throat. "If the idiots will retire, then we can continue the connexion." He rolled his eyes again. "Well, Wei Wuxian. That's a big fish you caught. I can't deny it helps our side. It also told the enemy you're a major opponent. You can turn his men into zombies and use them against him; whether you do or not doesn't matter, it's the threat. He'll be very cautious of you, in that case." He rubbed his chin. "Fine! Setting aside sanity is the business of war! If you're going to fight them, even to the point of risking your soul for it, then I'll welcome you. I'm not sure about the Sect business, though."

Chuckling, Wei Ying bowed to him in response. "Thank you." He replied, although he mentally reserved the right to murder anyone in the hall if they tried to hurt him or his important people. Since to him, these were all people who had marched on Burial Mound, killed his friends and family, tried to rob him, and then set him on fire.

Later, after the first round of deliberations were over, he strolled the boardwalk. This wound all through the Cloud Recesses. Although he was not in pain, he felt restless. Almost by route, he wandered down to the cold spring, where the waterfall was untouched by the violence. Either the fighting had never reached this innermost area or even the Wen dogs had been unable to mar such beauty. It was just as it had been years previously; when his fifteen-year-old self had gone and thrown his bruised body into the water. He had seen Lan Zhan's gloriously chiselled upper body there and teased him something brutal, even threating to steal his robes and make him walk back naked.

Or very nearly naked.

Lan Zhan was the type who bathed with his trousers on.

As he came up to the bank, Wei Ying paused. None other than Lan Zhan was there. He was seated primly on his knees, combing his hair out. There was something very sad about him as he posed there, in his pristine white robes, combing his hair. Although he was alone, he was muttering or moving his lips, speaking earnestly to someone. His eyes were distant, almost half-mast, and he paused in his movements, a tear brimming and falling from his long lashes.

Even with all he had seen in his two lives, Wei Ying could honestly say it was one of the most brutal scenes he had happened upon. He did not know what had hurt Lan Zhan's soul so deeply. There were many things stacked up recently, yet, although it was enough to make anyone shed a few tears, this was different.

The look in those almost gold eyes was closer to betrayal than grief.

Thinking back over the days he had been there, Wei Ying thought they had gotten to be closer. They spoke a few words every day. Greetings were very special now because they were alive to get to say them, so they both savoured them. Little witty sentences were a reprieve from the seriousness of the times they were living through. And what was friendship built on but these small, insignificant moments?

It rankled and annoyed him, that Lan Zhan's mistreatment had been glossed over. He had been hit on his back to the point he bled! He had to have some resentment in there, even if he chose not to let it seep out. His brother was trying to be as accepting as he could, but Lan Xichen had been Sect Leader for all of a month. He was still very young; some considered him, at twenty, to be too young to bear such burdens. Thus, he could not give as much attention to his younger brother's injury as perhaps he ought. Lan Zhan was getting the cold shoulder for associating with a person of the demonic persuasion, too. Some were curious enough to just come talk to him, ignoring his growing friendship with Hanguang-Jun, but others were outraged and only cast the evil-eye on them both.

Lan Qi Ren had already made up his mind and hated the mere mention of his name. It was not entirely unreasonable for Lan Qi Ren to be overprotective at the moment; he was Lan Zhan's biological uncle, one of only two living relatives. Both father and mother were gone for this seventeen-year-old, facing not only his mortality but that of many hundreds of people. So some extreme emotions were sure to come out not on in Lan Zhan, but Lan Qi Ren, too.

Wei Ying had no doubt there would be problems with that ol'fuddy'duddy in the future. If he could not gain control over his zeal. He hoped that would not end badly since regardless of the outcome, it was sure to hurt Lan Zhan the most.

Looking down, Wei Ying chewed his lip brutally. He did not know what to do. It was beyond just seeing someone cry, which he disliked. For a few seconds, he had felt like he had connected emotionally. There were tears in his own eyes. He wondered if it was because of the Abyss or because he had healed Lan Zhan, that he could tell so much from only a few second's view.

"Who goes there?!" Lan Zhan asked, demanded, his hand on Bichen.

"It is I!" Wei Ying said, coming around the bush. He did not want Bichen to come slicing at him when he was not handy with a sword. "I was looking for you and I thought you might be here..."

"_Do not lie to me!_" Lan Zhan snapped, his eyes glowing. It was the look of someone who was determined not to be betrayed again. Yet it was a very strange reaction for him to have. He lowered his eyes and Bichen, forcing himself to speak within the acceptable range. "You...you came and took...that thing from the lake. I felt it was wrong, but I trusted you! Why did you do such a thing?!" He looked down, his face drawing in. "How could you do such a thing?!"

Stunned, Wei Ying's mind slipped several places. He had never anticipated this man shouting at him or calling him out so bluntly. Then again, if there was anything for him to shout over, it made sense for it to be that. Wei Ying put his fingers to his third-eye chakra as it pained him. After he settled down, he took a deep breath and let it out.

"So..." He said, hooking his hands behind his back and turning to the water. "...it's because of that." He sighed, licking his lips. Of course, it had come as a shock for Lan Zhan that he had raised zombies. "Lan Zhan, I want you to keep your eyes on me." He said, making up his mind about that. At that moment, next to the icy pool of white water, with the yellow eyes of someone so pure and righteous bearing down on him in place of the absent moon. "Judge me. Ridicule me. Keep on yelling at me. It is okay to hit me, sometimes, if you feel I need it." He looked down at his reflection, which was wavering with the eternally dancing water. "I need it."

"If you feel that you need it...do not do such things." Lan Zhan took a step closer to him. "Do not walk that path!"

Smiling, hearing those words said to him so many times. Lan Zhan had never given up trying to turn him away from the demonic path. It had made him mad before, feeling that he had not been understood. That Lan Zhan was too arrogant to face reality. But now, Wei Ying felt that was incorrect. This person, sitting in the forest to cry alone, was not that arrogant. Turning, feeling a bit insane and hostile, but also rather curious and excited, Wei Ying closed the distance between them. Taking Lan Zhan's hand, he put it over his naval. Just as, in that other timeline, Jiang Cheng had done with him. "Right about here, right? I was coughing up blood, right? I needed your yang energy, right?"

There was a merciless breeze that left their skin chilled with even a minor caress. It lifted their hair and ran loving fingers through it, disarranging it playfully, then let it fall to move on caddishly to the trees and bushes.

Lan Zhan slowly let his hand fall, his expression blanked out. Another tear ran from his eye, lonely and glinting silver. "Wei Ying." He said, as if he could think of nothing else to say but his name.

"Lan Zhan." Wei Ying responded, playfully. "When the war is over, I will release that man. I'll let him just be a normal corpse." He looked right at him. "Zhuliu is a dangerous man, but a loyal one. He banged his head at my feet to spare a person he cared about. I respect him for that." He looked over the nearby trees and water. "I am the master, so, it is my job to do the dirty work. I'll pay back everything I owe someday. We all will. Until then, just keep your eyes on me."

Lan Zhan sighed and set Bichen down. "For healing my brother, you have my thanks." He said, softly. He studied the ground and the rocks and then looked over the water. He clearly wanted to be alone, either to cry or to bathe or to just stare into nothing.

"Lan Zhan." Wei Ying pounced on him, seizing his arm. He forced him to be still, even though his expression was somewhat pricelessly shocked. He let a darkling coil around his wrist; a dark, dully black band with a single red eye, endlessly staring out. "This is part of my person. It's very special. You could consider it a living thing. If you concentrate on it, you can call out for me. You will also sense it if I am..." He looked to the side. "...If I need you to come hit me."

Then, before he embarrassed either of them any further, Wei Ying turned his back and left. He marched back to the separate room he had been given. It was time for him to leave the Cloud Recesses, he thought, but he did want to return from time to time. To tease his dear friend. He could not imagine anyone who would be his friend like Lan Zhan was. Almost as if they were...

"Shixiong?" Nie Huaisang called out to him from around the corner. "Can I...come visit?"

"Yes!" Wei Ying called out, putting on a smile, while in his heart, he shut that door on those thoughts tightly, to open at a later date.


	9. War - Part One

_Time waits for absolutely no one. _

Wei Ying heard those words in his mind over and over as the war took ever darker turns. After the fall of Lotus Pier, his foresight was no longer perfect. Yet, even so, it was too accurate for others not to comment upon it. They considered it just another of his demonic powers. Even though he could only say there was a chance and he foretold only around one or two per cent of coming events, others could only observe him with awe. Within six months, he was considered a harbinger of doom by the Wen Clan, but many among the Mixed Colours also found him terrifying for that reason.

The problem was that one or two per cent did not really amount to much. It was always about someone connected to him personally, as well. He knew about isolated incidents in morbid detail, but could give them virtually no information about the war as a whole; he did not know anything much about Wen Ruohan and his sons since he had never been anywhere near them.

He had wanted to only speak on his knowledge to Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan, and perhaps Fangmian, but others insisted he speak before many if he was going to give any advice. So that they could evaluate his choices and decision, his every word, and decide if it was good. It did not take long before some pointed out his shortcomings, even calling him a fraud.

As the casualties piled up and there was no clear sign of victory, many were only able to seek an outlet for their anger, fear, and depression. He took all those unwarranted accusations because he was a demonic cultivator. Which was exacerbated rather dramatically for another reason.

The Wen Sect fostered only one philosophy, which was Ultimate Victory. Ambition was a vicious mistress indeed and failure was not tolerated. So, those they fought were of primarily two groups. Die on the battlefield at the swords of their enemies, or else retreat and be executed by their brothers. If they were going to die, either way, many simply committed suicide. But some, naturally, cast away all pride and surrendered to beg for clemency.

It posed a logistical question and moral dilemma.

Did they accept the Wen Dogs as prisoners of war and isolate them somewhere?

Wei Ying knew how that ended.

Thus, he took on the mantle of Merciful God and accepted those who properly surrendered. He required them to turn over their swords and take off their white and red. He had some dozens of them at Burial Mound already, where he put them to work making houses and turning over the topsoil. They were not permitted to leave without his permission, but he did not brand them or bind them. He had expected some grumbling, but quite a goodly number of them were thrilled with 'honest work' and applied themselves; they did nothing to antagonise the corpses wandering around as patrol, so the corpses did not attack them.

They lived off rations he brought it from Yiling, below the mountain, which cooperated with him insofar as they would accept his money. He did have some money. Although he was mostly to be found amid bloody exploits, he was still a cultivator. He had routed most of the zombies and undead in Yiling by summoning them to a convergence point and binding them to his will. He also sold talismans to protect against evil spirits, wraiths, and ill-humours; these worked quite a bit better than most, drawing upon the forces of earth and water. In Yiling, so close to Burial Mounds, there was a high concentration of Yin Qi in the air and water, which lead to more troubles of the kidneys, eyes, and the respiratory tract than elsewhere. His talismans, although not directly, helped improve many of those complaints.

It was enough to make a living, anyway.

But, of course, taking in Wen Dogs was his cardinal sin. There was just no reconciling that in the hearts of some. He did not care if they burned him in effigy, he only cared if they burned him in reality. He wondered, as he stood amid the trees, with his black fletched brethren of the skies circling endlessly, the flute to his lips and their cries echoing over the area, how the malcontents would feel if he did not fight alongside them? He could imagine they would call him a deserter or traitor, in that case; his powers were needed so he was obligated to fight with them, even if they did cast ill-omens over him and disparage his name with the slightest provocation.

The rest of his powers were nothing to sneer at. The Stygian Tiger Seal was now part of his body; he could direct the resentful energy much more easily, but it took a greater toll on him. Not just his body, but his mind was affected. He did better at night, but even then, he could not run on into the infinite. He had to work in intervals as damage accrued mercilessly in his lungs and throat. He did not allow anyone to know it, but he sometimes bled from his eyes or nose after the fighting was done. Each skirmish, each battle, he was betting his life just like everyone else.

There was also the Abyss. He had promised her sacrifices and she would have them. If he did not feed her regularly, she would start to pull energy from his body, which was anything but fun. He allowed himself to soak up the darkness, rinsing his hair in it, and she took in all that resentful energy like an alcoholic taking in rice wine. The excess flooded his body, ripping his skin open.

He was all malted with cuts, torn from within, during every fight.

For him, it was another wearisome day, toiling under the unreciprocating heaven. Around him, there were four fierce corpses, protecting each side, and Zhuliu. There were ghouls, a dense meat-shield, around them. There were roughly two hundred undead under his command, comprised of units of twenty-four regular zombies and one fierce corpse. Each of these was providing relief to those who were lagging or suffering heavier losses. He trilled and whistled intermittently, resting his mouth and throat from the continual flute playing.

Everywhere there were dead bodies piled up. He did not bother to turn them all into zombies. If they were missing limbs, he considered them no good. The enemy had taken to dismembering their dead just to prevent him from getting a hold of good quality corpses. As a necromancer, this was a big problem for him. They said an army marched on its stomach…his did not. His marched very much on their legs…or even their hands, at that.

They could not precisely drag themselves along on their chins.

Turning his eyes to either side, Wei Ying had many ideas. None of them good. Because he was under a constant onslaught of resentful energy, his emotions were always unstable. He experienced highs and lows like a drunk, but never the relief and freedom of intoxication. It was a tension similar to arousal, although it was also brutally sterile.

"Just end already." He muttered, tipping his head back. His head hurt. His lungs hurt. His bones hurt. He lifted the flute to his lips, tearing his throat as he carried each note higher, faster, more brutally, forcing the corpses into a dervish that ripped their flesh and broke their bones. He didn't care if they were reduced to mere lumps of battered flesh, they were already dead. If they could bring the damn battle to a close, then he would play them one last elegy.

Finally, a horn blared. A multi-coloured array burst in the sky, signalling victory over the fort. As he had known would happen, Wen Xu had been killed by Nie Mengjue. Beheaded, cut up, ground into a pathetic figure. A truly terrible ending. It was fine, as far as Wei Ying was concerned; he who had dared to burn the Cloud Recesses deserved a thousand merciless deaths.

To others, it was had been an uncertain victory, so they were all relieved; he could hear the cheer raised from the Mixed Colours at Hejian. Wei Ying had decided not to foretell any specific person's death, just in case he was wrong. Whether he was correct or not, it would bring about too many complications if people thought he could foretell deaths. The array faded from the sky, leaving an emptiness behind it.

It was a major victory and worth celebrating, but Wei Ying did not want to participate in the jovialities. The Wen Sect members, scattered around in the trees nearby, gave cries of despair, throwing themselves on their swords or their knees. Some just stood there, staring, tears running from their eyes. One man was sitting, rocking back and forth, sucking his thumb. There were so many broken souls around him, wavering, screaming, begging...he could see them, hear them, feel them.

It was overwhelming and he staggered, his back bent, toward the defence line.

The defence line was drawn on both sides. It was typically at some distance from wherever the battle was taking place. In a field battle, it was preferably one mile from the edge of the field that their side started on. In a ranged battle, it was where-ever there was stable ground and a water source. This time, it was the later. Typical terrain for the region. A single awning had been erected and several crates of medicinal supplies stacked there next to rolled out grass rugs. There was no point having cots or bedrolls to collect blood, grass was cheap and easy to weave. They had chairs and a folding work-table.

Most of these niceties were provided by the LanlingJin Sect, but the grass rugs had been woven by the women and non-combatants of all the sects. They worked tirelessly, rubbing their fingers raw to weave, sew, and mix to support their loved ones.

Wei Ying glanced at the Mixed Colours gathered here. Each of the cultivational sects involved had a small banner up. They all had a grass rug set up for their people, too. Some number of cultivators from each sect was there to act as nurses, but the largest number had come from the GusuLan Sect. They were simply the best at stitching wounds shut, apparently, and none of them lost face when it came to the truly gruesome conditions of the people brought before them.

Stumbling, Wei Ying coughed and spat out a gout of blood.

At his side, a solid and impressive presence appeared. Lan Zhan was never farther from him than the defence line. His face was worn a little with the harrows of war. Yet he was still beautiful and his back was still straight. He had a few minor injuries. It was rather difficult to land a blow on him, the enemy had learned well, as when roused he was a true shot and a heavy blade. Bichen had already been famed throughout the cultivational world, but now, no one in any world did not know the name.

Looking up at Lan Zhan, hanging from one of his strong arms, Wei Ying realised he had started to fall. They were relatively alone, but some other Lan Sect members were running the triage in the near distance, casting expressions of disgust at him. That someone as clean and noble as Hanguang-Jun was touching him made them silently furious.

"Thank you." Wei Ying burbled at him, as he was set down on a camp chair. "I am...still all right."

"You are not." Lan Zhan snapped, turning to beckon to a junior; the youth timidly brought over a cask of water and then rushed back to the safety of the triage awning. "Wei Ying, you push yourself too far! I tell you, but you do not listen!"

"I listen. I always listen to you." Wei Ying replied, taking the water gratefully. He coughed, spitting out more blood and holding his chest in one hand. The cuts were healing, but they were drawn over and over. He could not hide. His sleeves were roughly pulled back to expose the dark lines. They ripped open and then sealed, ripped open and then sealed. His hands twitched each time. There was no blood coming out even when the wounds opened; they were darkened rather than red.

Golden eyes puckered against the sight of it.

Not liking to see that expression, Wei Ying pulled his sleeve down sharply and stood up. It was the wrong move. He could only collapse again, unable to support his own weight. The scene before him swirled around. For a few seconds, Wei Ying did not know where precisely he was. The battlefields in his memories and the reality before him merged into one large blur and he gripped his head in his hands tightly.

Zhuliu shuddered and began to grumble and snap his jaw, his hands lifting. He turned, swinging around, and came at them; he was very clearly in attack mode, but he was not aiming for the captured Wens in the far distance or Lan Zhan who was nearby. The only one he was after was his master, his enemy, who had turned him into a zombie.

It was impressive, how fast Lan Zhan moved. He kicked Zhuliu in the chest, hard enough to cast him back twelve feet. He was bowled over and had to struggle to get him. Likely, any other fierce corpse would have had a hole in its chest, but this fortified zombie was able to rise whole and intact.

Turning, fluidly, Lan Zhan lifted his hand and brought it out in a firm slap to his cheek. The sound was like a branch snapping. Wei Ying reeled from the blow and looked up at Lan Zhan, frowning; he felt rather giddy, being hit like that, but he could not fully focus his eyes because of it. He was aware that Lan Zhan had Bichen out, gleaming a celestial blue, but he only kept the sword up in ready defence.

Looking over at Zhuliu, Wei Ying swallowed the fatigue and let out a very low whistle; something barely audible. The zombie settled down, his arms lowering and he slumped. The aura of murderous intent left him. The air around him lightened as the miasma stopped spewing out from within him.

Lan Zhan was eyeing him with deep misgivings. "You are bleeding." He said, very softly.

Wiping the blood from his nose, Wei Ying gritted his teeth. "There's too much resentment here." He muttered. He thought his veins were going to burst if he took in anymore. "I don't know if...I can walk."

There was a pause, then Lan Zhan turned Bichen and placed his feet upon the wide flat blade. He hooked his arm around Wei Ying's thin waist easily, supporting him in just the one arm, and took flight. He did not go far. Just to the nearest river, where he settled his burden down.

Wei Ying immediately collapsed and lay upon his back, staring at the sky.

Zhuliu was already running toward him, drawn like a magnet to him. The rest of the undead were loosened from his control. Most collapsed, unable to move due to the condition of their bodies. Some became rather vicious and stirred up a little trouble.

"Damn it." Hitting the ground next to him, Wei Ying writhed around the pains in his back and chest. The resentment was fading away but he still hurt all over. The cuts torn were fewer and smaller.

Lan Zhan knelt beside him, having wet a cloth at the river, and wiped his brow and neck. He cleaned his hands. He could do nothing about the cuts, but he could at least get rid of the sweat and filth clinging to his skin.

Smiling, Wei Ying heaved a breath. "Let me sleep." He muttered, quietly; it had been days and he felt hollow. Tears leaked from his eyes. "Just...for a few minutes."

Slowly, Lan Zhan set the rag aside and took the zither from his back. He was never without his zither and Wei Ying suddenly wondered how he got it to hang from his back without upsetting his hair and robes. First, he made powerful strums, igniting the air. He banished all the excess resentful energy pouring off of Wei Ying; enough of it to darken the air and wilt the grass he was lying on. When the cuts had stopped and the resentful energy dissipated into clean Yin energy, he began to play a different tune; something soothing to the ears and the soul.

Long into the night, while the Mixed Colours made merry and exulted in their victory and the Wen Sect despaired and seethed in their defeat, Wei Ying let himself relax. For an hour, he thought, he could rest. They could get on without him. It was very difficult to let himself sleep when he knew it was not over yet, but he also felt comforted that he was not alone.


	10. War - Part Two

Hello again! Trigger warning! This chapter is more violent than the last. There are death scenes and mention of torture, but I don't get into too many details. Just thought I'd put a warning for anyone who is extra sensitive.

I created two things for the purposes of expansion. A character and a weapon for Jang Cheng. If anyone wants to politely correct my use of Chinese, please PM me. I used Han Trainer, a kanji look-up site, for reference. Here are the characters I chose.

(Wen) Àn 按 – 'to press'

Hēi Shé 黑蛇 /黑舌 Black Snake /Black Tongue (Pronounced the same way!)

Didi 弟弟 – younger brother (As a reminder, WWX is one year older than JC!)

Okay, that's about it.

* * *

Month eight of the Sunshot Campaign. With a starting force of eight thousand, the Mixed Colours lead an assault upon the QishanWen Sect. Six months in, Wen Xu was killed at Hejian. Nie Mengjue's name raced through the cultivational world as a hero. The ten thousand opposing forces had been overpowered. Yet, even with many defecting from the Wen Sect, they were still thirty thousand in the field. There were at least half that again at Wen Ruohan's Nightless City.

Meng Yao, or Jin Guangyao as he was now alternately known, sided with the Wen Clan. He was one of many bastard sons of Jin Guangshan, born of a prostitute mother and raised for the earliest years of his life in a brothel. It had undoubtedly made him shrewd and calculating. Everything was a business transaction. He normally kept a sullen expression, but the youth would lighten up when he saw someone he liked. His betrayal hit everyone who knew him hard. Yet, although he sided with Wen Ruohan, he had been the one to aid Lan Xichen in his time of need, even saving his life when he was injured in a sudden, unforeseen area encounter. Some speculated at to what horrible twist of fate or grudge against the Mixed Colours he could have for siding with Wen Ruohan.

The Wen Sect fared better under his strategies. The Mixed Colours reeled at the brutal treatment of any prisoners of war, even those he had called friends, that he oversaw. A youth not yet twenty years of age, to do something like that? It spawned some very insidious gossip. Everyone cursed him. He was treated as even worse than the Wens. There were even some rumours that he aided Wen Ruohan's cultivation with his body, but that was definitely taking things too far, and Nie Mengjue put a stop to idle gossip. It had too terrible an effect on Lan Xichen. He would cast down his face, covering his eyes with his slender hand, in open and obvious grief whenever he heard someone disparage his life's saviour.

After the battle of Hejian, there was something of a lull before the siege of Nightless City commenced. Swords were sharpened, bows made good, arrows stock-piled by the million. Everyone that could, sat lotus, meditating, cultivating, or just making their peace with the world. There were around ten thousand among the Mixed Colours. Facing three times their number was definitely what one would call arrogant and unpromising, as Wen Ruohan had cited. Yet, they were all going to do it, even if they all died. Drinks were exchanged, oaths of friendship and brotherhood were sworn, and people held their spouses and children tightly.

Then, there were the ones who were alone.

The Yungmeng Jiang Sect had rallied up their troops and retook Lotus Pier. Just after Hejian, they had scored another major victory by retaking the Pier and raising their purple crest for all to see. Many sect members in hiding had come out to beg forgiveness of the clan leader. Fangmian was magnanimous and pardoned all who had run, praising them and thanking them for being alive. If they were alive, they could continue to fight. They had been tended to the wounded, gathering information, and offering their protection to the civilians around Lotus Pier, so they had not exactly been idle or cowardly.

Chongyang was left under Jiang Cheng's command while Fangmian oversaw Lotus Pier and Yu Ziyuan lead their troops into battle. They had managed to send no less than three thousand of the ten thousand total forces. Madam Yu was ready to kill Wen Ruohan herself if she could, even defying Nie Mengjue's claim, because she had a very personal vendetta against the man. One of her handmaidens, Jinzhu, had been taken by Wen forces while running errands for her mistress, and it was untold how horribly she suffered before her death.

Many female cultivators had rallied around Madam Yu, creating a fierce and brutal unit of lethal assassins that would never, ever fall to a man.

Yet, with neither the Clan Leader or the Violet Spider at the fort, it appeared more vulnerable compared to other targets. Wen Ruohan had sent out the word that all forces were to gather at Nightless City, yet the cultivators in the field were starting to turn desperate. For too long had they been raised on pipe dreams and ambition. There was a general lack of command among the smaller units, which functioned more like gangs. They took the initiative and made their moves prematurely. Most often to their own ruin. Sometimes, to the ruin of all. Of these, wandering around with no direction or guidance, four units met at Jingchu and decided to attack Chongyang.

Chongyang was attacked by two thousand Wen cultivators. Jiang Cheng only had seven hundred to man the fort, as it was simply a reserves depot after Lotus Pier had been restored. The two thousand, lead by one Kian Jun, broke the defences after just fifteen minutes. Overwhelmed, Jiang Cheng still fought valiantly for two hours before the fort fell. He called the retreat and gave cover to those behind him, wielding Sandu in one hand and a black whip in the other.

A whip that left red traceries in the air and sucked yang energy from whomever he flailed. It was called Hēi Shé. Those that looked upon him and thought of his mother, referred to it as the Black Snake. Those who had seen it and could only liken it to Wei Wuxian's ominous darklings, called it the Black Tongue. Either way, the Wen Clan had already come to fear it almost as much as they feared Zidian.

Yet Jiang Cheng was only seventeen years of age. His body grew tired more easily and he was forcing his inexperienced mind to shoulder all the responsibilities. As the son of the Sect Leader. As the brother of the now famous Wei Wuxian. As the Commander of the fort.

He bit his lip as he looked at the dozen men before him, at the highest wall, trying to find an opening. They looked more like zombies than the undead he had grown used to fighting alongside. Undead he was sadly without at the moment. Something about the way they leered at him made his gut clenched; there was something wrong with them!

Jiang Cheng's premonition was correct.

One of the cultivators before him turned his sword around and stabbed himself in the stomach. There was a nasty noise as offal popped out. The man grinned, blood draining from his chin, his eyes crossing, and he convulsed several times before he slumped onto his knees. The others, around him, had put up cloths over their noses, bearing miasma blocking arrays.

Gulping, Jiang Cheng lowered the whip to cover his nose with his arm. It was too late. He swayed, his vision blurring. Sandu slipped from his numbed fingers. The blood from the body was thick and malodorous as it mixed with oxygen. His boots slipped a little as his legs became numb. He did not know what evil trick they had used, but he turned his eyes to the courtyard below; those remaining, volunteering to stay to give their younger brothers a chance to flee, were collapsing. Many of the Wen dogs had killed themselves and were spreading their poisoned blood around.

Pain pierced Jiang Cheng's chest, next to his heart, as a sword sank all the way through his body. A sword stained in blood already. "No!" Cheng called out, aware that wounds like that rotted and often left the body permanently disfigured. The blade was pulled out again. His blood did not flow out properly. He staggered back, dizzy and gasping for breath; his lungs were constricted already and now blood was flooding this stomach and air passages.

He spat some out rather than choke on it.

Someone seized him from behind, wrenching the whip away from him; it coiled around them, like a snake indeed, moving of its own will. It sucked them completely dry of yang energy, so that they became only a thin husk. No one else dared to go near it or touch it. Even Jiang Cheng was repulsed by it, although it had never harmed him. At his write, the black bracelet he had been given was pulsing like it was alive, but it did not move or do anything to protect him.

Pulled back to the line of prisoners, Jiang Cheng took relief only in the fact that of the seven hundred, less than fifty were on their knees. Some had died, he noted, but he was proud of their deaths.

Sad, but proud.

Grabbed by his hair, so that his head was yanked backwards severely, Jiang Cheng expected to feel the thin sting of a blade against his throat. Instead, he was just beaten. Punched on either side of his face. He was hit in the stomach, tearing his wound further; that was not so bad, it made it bleed. But the poison was circulating in his body and his limbs were useless. He was hit with a green switch across his legs and back until he could no longer feel it. Then he was pulled up and tied to a crudely erected pole.

Cheng contemplated biting his tongue. He was not sure if he could bite down in one go with his muscles worn out. He looked up as someone started screaming in the front open space of the courtyard. One of his younger brothers was there, thrashing around in hysteria; it was not terribly dignified but it was only natural to fear death. It was not a quick execution, either. He lay there, bleeding to death, while the next was dragged to the centre.

The older ones were more steeled, but even they were not prepared to endure such torments without some fuss. Jiang Cheng was not sure if the churning in his stomach was terror or curdling blood. He wanted to vomit. Four became eight. Eight became sixteen. More then half their number had been gone through when their tormentors seemed to grow bored with the process.

Jiang Cheng did not know if it was wrong or not, but he was relieved when they just started cutting off heads. It was one blow. Done and over in less than a minute. He also knew that that meant his turn would come much sooner. He hung from the pole at the end. The last one; of course they would save him for last. He was dragged out from the pole by his hair, some of which was ripped out. His scalp started bleeding. Dazed, not sure if he was fully conscious or if he had already started to slip across the veil, Jiang Cheng experienced a very strange dream.

In the sky, above and beyond the people torturing him, there was a black blob. It was almost like an array, but less defined. He watched it, enjoying the surrealism of the dream much more than the reality around him. That reality he couldn't change could just stop already. The sky, where perhaps all things began and ended, was curiously deformed by the black spot. It had dimension to it, definitely, and from the very middle, something red glinted. Once, twice, it ignited and snuffed out. Then, a beak appeared; the beak was massive. It did not even look like something one would find on a bird. But it was a bird, or at least bird-shaped. The bird was so huge the wings undoubtedly spanned sixteen feet. Each feather was the size of a sword. The red eyes were forward-facing and the beak was razor-edged. The feathers were black, but the end tips were red, and the eyes were red, and the breast was covered in red scales.

Blinking, tears rushing down his cheeks, Jiang Cheng turned his aching, burning eyes to the sword coming down on him. It looked rather more intimidating at that range, in that position. How protected he had been his whole life was hammered home and he shuddered. His spine curved against his will. His hands clenched and strained spasmodically. "_Wei Wuxian!_" He called out, loudly, screaming it, tearing his soul, because he did not want to die.

The bird, spectre or ghost or real animal, went into a spiral from the wreath that had birthed it. The claws opened, and the man there, bringing his sword down, lost his head with one snap. Everyone heard that snap. The bird rotated its eyes, as no earthly bird could do, and flapped its wings. The wind cast a black haze over the courtyard. The beak opened, letting out some silent cry that cast ripples through the air.

The Wen Cultivators backed away, dumbstruck, gobsmacked; it was something only a god could summon, surely...or perhaps a demon.

"You assholes..." A very welcome, slightly patronizing, slightly hostile, slightly sarcastic voice said from above. "..._how dare you!_" Black lightning hit the nearby bluff, showering the degraded fort in small boulders.

The bird flapped and buffeted again, rising in the air. It wheeled around, moving to the top of the tower, and perched there like a dragon over a castle.

"_Yiling Patriarch_!" Someone screamed.

"_The Grandmaster_!" Someone moaned.

"_Beautiful_." Someone else said.

Jiang Cheng shot a look to the side, where that had come from. He could not tell who had said something like that. It was ludicrous and stupid and made him feel irritated, but, when he looked up at Wei Wuxian, he was forced to admit it was strangely beautiful. Unlike before, when he had felt jealous of his brother, he no longer had the capacity for that. Wei Wuxian had surpassed the entire human race, given up his right to ever be compared to. Jiang Cheng did not like it, but, sadly, he was rather relieved because of it.

There was a very short span of ten minutes. All Wei Wuxian had to do was swipe his hand out. The men fell in a wave, pierced through the heart with some black arrow or dart. They did not even writhe around. They expired instantly. Even the one with blushes on his cheeks, who was standing there in idol worship, fell to his new-found god.

Then, Wei Wuxian's feet alighted on the ground. "A-Cheng?!" He called out, the aloof disdain was gone and deep worry etched the handsome lines of his face.

It was seriously annoying that he was that handsome at such a moment.

Coughing, Jiang Cheng hung in his arms. He was more at ease resting his weight against the earth.

Wei Wuxian pulled his robes aside to look at the wound, his brows pulling in. "Shit." Wei Wuxian snapped, looking around absently. "This blood is mixed with black dirt."

Although Jiang Cheng had never heard it called that, he could guess that it was Corpse Poisoning. Scratches from ghouls could rot wounds if not immediately treated with Elixir. Bites were even worse. Non-cultivators who were bitten often died of the gangrene and ended up becoming ghouls or zombies themselves due to their miserable deaths. Very likely, the cultivators who had killed themselves had been infected by corpse powder or blood on their swords.

It made a kind of sense. If Wei Wuxian could figure out how to use zombies and dark arts, then why not the Wen Clan? Or anyone at all, for that matter?

Wei Wuxian hugged him closer. "I won't let that happen!" He said, his eyes a blazing crimson. Even the pupils were contracted. He easily lifted someone in his arms, where he should have needed assistance or leverage or at least strained a little. He looked up, whistling clearly, and the bird came down for him to mount. He could stand upon the bird's back and not trouble the beast at all with his weight. Or the weight of a wounded man. The bird flapped only one and then soared, heading right for the rip in the sky.

"Wei Wuxian?!" Jiang Cheng tensed a little, afraid of the utter blackness beyond the wreath. It had a shape, he thought, which he decided was an array after all.

"I won't let you die, Cheng." Wei Wuxian said, firmly. "Bite your shirt. You have more control over dying than you might believe. The soul is not like the body. Give it even a little will power and you can do amazing things. Just keep breathing!"

The bird was soaring through a vast space. Something that distorted perceptions. Everything seemed to stretch out of shape and at the same time remain at a stand-still. They came out another hole in the sky over a vast wasteland. Everything was blackened and stale. It almost looked like ash. Then Jiang Cheng realised they were at Burial Mound, and they had just gone from Jingchu to Yiling in a matter of a few minutes. Even flying on a sword it would take hours to cover that distance! On foot, it could take days!

He forgot to breathe.

The bird headed for a high, slender mountain. If mountain it could be called. It was more in the shape of a wave that had just crested. He noted that there were many of these waves, all black or darkest grey, with bits of rock and scraggly bushes mixed in at the base; the peak was needle fine in some cases. They looked fragile. Yet, up close, they were very clearly solid and not about to fall. The bird had chosen one that had a flat top; the point had curled over itself and here it had built itself an eerie.

Wei Wuxian took him down some crude steps from the nest. They came out near a cave, which they entered, and Jiang Cheng found himself laid upon a relatively normal bed. The cave was full of things he decided not to examine too closely. Instead, he just let himself enjoy laying on a bed in a secure location. He did not enjoy someone else taking his clothes off, but he knew it was because he had been stabbed and poisoned, so there was no helping it. It was not like it was some stranger, either; it was Wei Wuxian.

His brother.

His eyes fluttered. He was dozing, he thought, or delirious. Water was poured into his mouth. He could not feel whatever treatment he was given. Instead, he was thinking. About himself, about Wei Wuxian. He had been bitter at their parting. It had confused him, for he had thought that Wei Wuxian would be with him always. Even if not as a servant. He had no need of a servant and Wei Wuxian had never acted like that. He had always acted as a brother.

From what Jiang Cheng understood of his parents' relationship, they had already begun to have marital problems before his birth. He had always felt he was loved but from a distance. Love was not the same as pride, after all. Things had started to get worse from his fourth year, but he had not understood their sighs and the tension in their expressions. Or that his mother living apart from his father within the same out was not like other parents. Then suddenly, his father had gone out and come back with a stray dog. Initially, Jiang Cheng had thought that pale-skinned, big-eyed boy was something similar to an animal. He had given off that kind of aura. He had been afraid of dogs, though, and Jiang Cheng had had to say goodbye to his beloved companions. His father had taken him aside, telling him that he had to do this wretched thing. It had been the first tear in his heart, on his soul, that growing up would inevitably bring.

He had hated this strange boy. He had hated being forced to part with his friends, whom he loved like family members. He had hated that his father had brought in such a person. Enough that he had even hit Wei Wuxian, shoving him out of his room, away from his things, his space, and threatening him. He had wanted him to be afraid and suffer, but he had not expected Wei Wuxian to take him so seriously he ran away!

Later on, when he had grown up enough to understand just how terrible Wei Wuxian's life must have been, he had accepted that his father had done the right thing. His mother, however, had always been rather strange about it. Prickly and hostile. He had been twelve before he had _comprehended_ why she was upset over Wei Wuxian coming to live with them. The first time he had heard someone, some stranger, trading gossip about his father's possible infidelity. He had felt a slow, cold, and unwelcome sense of betrayal from the world. That people could just make up stories about his parents for their own amusement!

Of were they?

Was Wei Wuxian his actual brother?

He knew next to nothing about Wei Wuxian's parents. Just that his mother had been a renowned beauty. Someone who had come down from the celestial mountain, apparently. He did not know if he believed in gods. They were never around to help, so what did it matter? But this woman had given that up for 'some reason'. And he knew that Cangse Sanren and Fangmian had been friends from before his marriage, yet she had married Wei Changze.

Wei Changze had been Fangmian's servant. It was almost blasphemous to dare suggest Fangmian would touch any woman, but his servant's wife?! Yet, the world of adults was complicated. It was not like mistakes didn't happen. They got drunk or they were just lonely or _something_. Who woke up in the morning and decided to have an affair? Jiang Cheng could think of no one...aside from Jin Guangshan who had made a career out of it.

If Wei Wuxian was his half-brother, then...what?

What changed?

Did anything change?

Fangmian had adamantly declared that he loved his wife, but that he might still disagree with her. That sounded like a normal relationship! But, that had been said twelve years after he had brought Wei Wuxian into Lotus Pier and seventeen years since Wei Wuxian had been born! Seventeen years was a very long time when Cheng thought about it. An entire lifetime. It was entirely possible that Fangmian truly meant his words, but maybe seventeen years previously he had not felt it as strongly or there had been something he felt more strongly about than Yu Ziyuan.

Of course, Jiang Cheng never even entertained the idea that his mother could also have an affair. He just did not think that was something she would do, even if she was capable of it.

Jiang Cheng sighed, feeling that a century had passed. He opened his eyes, looking around at the cave. It looked different. Cleaner or more orderly; certainly those things he had glimpsed were missing now. Wei Wuxian was sitting nearby, smudges under his eyes, his arms folded. "Wei...Wu-xian..." Cheng coughed, wincing as the wound at his chest pulled. "...why a cave?"

Wei Wuxian looked up at him, blinked, then gave his signature smile. Somewhere between a grin and a smirk. "Good morning, _didi_." He reached out, petting his hair back from his face. "You've been unconscious for two days. It's now very early on the third day. All the poison was drawn out. You're a bit anaemic but you'll recover. The wound nicked a lung on the left side but did not hit your heart. I've mended it as much as I can...the rest is up to greater healers."

"Two...days?!" Jiang Cheng exclaimed. "The siege! The siege is starting..." He had to stop because he couldn't breathe and he grimaced against his helplessness.

"Yes, tomorrow or the next day." Wei Wuxian nodded. "You won't be fighting in it unless we find you a proper healer, or..." He looked to the side. "...km, it's best to find a healer. I have someone in mind. Actually, it really can't be anyone else. I've put out scouts looking for her and will bring her here. Or, if it's better, we go there via the worm-hole." He looked up at the ceiling of the cave. "I sent an owl to your parents, respectively, to inform them you are alive. I'm sure Madam Yu was cursing my name. Yanli sent a note back that she will make you lotus soup for when you return."

Jiang Cheng blinked. Yanli. His eyes filled and although it was terribly shameful, tears ran to either side of his face. He had been certain that he was going to die there for a few moments. Even as much as painful as it had been, he had been numbed by the poison and exhaustion of battle, so he had felt the terror at a distance. It now hit him keenly, sharper than the sword than had sunk into him, and he put an arm over his eyes as he sobbed.

An icy set of fingers touched his hand. Wei Wuxian had his face down, his eyes a dull black, his mouth pouting; it was anything but his normal expression. He did not babble, as usual. He just sat there, one hand out, silently living through the same pain. Whether from when he had been a child, not even six years old, or in the turtle cave, or when he had set foot upon the demonic path, he knew that same terror.

Jiang Cheng made himself sit up. He wiped his tears with his sleeve. "That healer..." He said, firmly. "...find them today! I will live! I will definitely fight alongside my parents and my brother!"

Lifting his black eyes, the pupils expanding reactively, Wei Wuxian's mouth opened just a bit in shock. Then, a truly beautiful smile split his face. A bit of colour returned to his pallid cheeks and he reached out, ever-so-gently, to put his arms around Jiang Cheng. "Brother!" He said, earnestly, but it seemed his voice wavered.


	11. War - Part Three

Created these things because I used the Abyss and I thought it would make more sense for WWX to be a little paranoid letting any 'important' people out of his sight. He can't be with them all the time. So I started to develop the idea of something he could use to keep watch over them without them necessarily knowing that he's spying on them. This is the name I chose, which is just a literal description. I also had WQ use a different title for WWX since I just couldn't see her calling him 'Patriarch' or 'Grandmaster'.

Huán Máo

环 Huán – ring, link, to surround, hoop (pronounced the same: 还 Huán – to return, to give back, to do in return)

毛 Máo – hair, feather, down, wool

(Yiling) 控制 Kòngzhì – to control, to dominate, to bridle, to master, to get command of, to govern

* * *

Wei Ying was very worried about Jiang Cheng's condition. While he had drawn off the Corpse Poison and sped up his healing by around three-fold, there was a lack of cleanliness in Burial Mound at it was by the heart. Taking no chances, he had induced a coma in him with an Array, but he dared not extend that beyond two days. He had to wake up and eat and move his limbs a little or he would atrophy and end up with metabolic problems.

Now, he really had to find Wen Qing. She would be invaluable during and after the siege, too. He had a plan, although he was not entirely sure how to induce her to agree. He was prepared to use Wen Ning if he had to, but he did not want to. Wen Ning was the most important thing to Wen Qing; if he erred even a little, she would become his worst enemy rather than his greatest ally.

As for the plan, it was simple. Once the Mixed Colours were healed by her, perhaps unknowing she was of the Wen Sect, they would have to view her as a benevolent entity. Wen Ning was simply too timid to pose a threat, so if others met him as a living man and not the infamous Ghost General, they would likely be moved to pity. That would open the gate to acceptance of all who were merely stuck with the name Wen, even if scattered individuals decided to hate them out of personal bias.

He looked at Cheng, who was dozing a little while they waited. At his pale wrist, there was the Huan Mao. He had forced all the young heirs into taking one, simply so that he could know their movements. They sent a signal to his mind directly, being made of his blood and hair; they were infused with the power of the Abyss, as well. Only Lan Zhan seemed to have figured out that it was organic and took care not to let it be damaged. Although the black band on his wrist clashed brutally with his all-white ensemble, he valued the gift and wore it without any indication he was embarrassed by it. Jin Zixuan had looked close to vomiting, but he had accepted it as a communication device. Nie Huaisang had been extremely pleased with his, showing it off to people and blushing when he looked at it.

This was how he had known to come to Jiang Cheng's aid when Chongyang had fallen. The bracelets were doing their job. He had already handed out Spirit Attraction Flags and the Compass of Evil to the Sect Leaders, with detailed instructions on how to use them and how not to use them. He was not very good at such works and his writing was atrocious even in his own eyes, but it was not enough to win the war only to be overrun with vengeful spirits; they had to take precautions before they turned anyone to a spirit.

Wei Ying was alerted by his scouts and set off with Jiang Cheng. They did not have time to go with the safer route and Wei Ying had the grievous suspicion Jiang Cheng would strike off for the siege if he was left alone. They would travel by worm-hole to avoid putting too much strain on his body...and Wei Ying liked them. They were anchored in certain places. Sometimes they collapsed on themselves. Some seemed to be able to move around on their own. He was not precisely sure what they were but he found them convenient.

Yiling was not an inhospitable county and only just across the river from Yunmeng. There were many places where it was relatively easy to hide. Wei Ying set Cheng to lean against a tree in a slag pile, mostly half mined rocks containing crystal ore or perhaps jade, but long since abandoned. He sat on a smooth river boulder, cradling his sword, and looking resigned to more waiting.

Around a corps of trees from the slag pile, there was a very small annexed sect. There was only a central hall. A collection of six much tattered, half-burnt out houses ringed the hall. The wall was ancient and not tall enough to stop a grown man hopping over. Someone had still taken the trouble to more than half pull it down. There were sentries out, holding spears, and a boy with them ran back into the tiny village to sound the alarm.

Wei Ying found himself facing off against the most pathetic and depressed people; they were all frightened of him, recognising his all-black robes, red sash, and his flute. Wen Qing stood at a middle distance, guiding women and children into what little shelter there was. She had a tense, haunted face. There were only a hundred or so people here; not all of them were Wens. The men, Wen Ning included, gathered around in front of them. They wore their Red and White, but not with pride. Their robes were dirty, torn. Wen Ning's eyes were much older and harder than at the archery tournament. They wavered, throwing back the light; he was a living man!

Wei Ying almost rushed to him and threw his arms around him, simply out of the joy of seeing him alive. Perhaps because of the queer look on his face, Wen Ning swallowed reflexively. He was trying to overcome his innate anxiety and with great emotional effort lifted his bow; he was normally a precise shot, but his hands were shaking and Wei Ying easily caught the arrow in his hand.

Casting his eyes around, just holding the arrow, Wei Ying took in that everyone there was wounded. It was a medical hold, in that case, not an arms depot or watchtower. Returning his gaze to Wen Ning, he smiled just a little. "I'm not here to fight." He said, softly. "I'm here to speak with Wen Qing."

Wen Ning bristled. "What do you want with my sister?!" He asked, in his squeaky, tremulous voice. "Wei Shixiong wouldn't...wouldn't...do that..." His forehead wrinkled and he swallowed again. After almost a year of war, he had seen horrors and he could not bring himself to speak of them. All he could do was curl up and try his hardest to glare.

Behind him, Wen Qing came. She had her head held high and put a hand on her younger brother's shoulder. "Lower your bow, A-Ning. This esteemed gentlemen would have already killed us if he had the mind to." She turned her eyes to the front, fixing them on her target. "And for what do we owe the honour of your visit, Yiling Kòngzhì?" And she put her hands together to bow just a little. There was sweat on her brow and she was trying to hide her shaking legs, but she was still a regal and dignified woman.

She reminded him of Madam Yu, but younger and less bitter.

Nodding to her, acknowledging her as the leader here, Wei Ying lifted two fingers. "I have two reasons. The first is a genuine request of you as a healer. To heal a man, regardless of his colours or name, because he is in need. The second is the payment for the first. I will offer you my protection as the Grandmaster. Undoubtedly, in the near future, the Nightless City will fall. I cannot tell you when or in what way, but I can foresee that much, with these eyes of mine. I know and understand that you and those like you are not necessarily in agreement with Wen Ruohan." He looked to the side for a moment. "And you should not have to be treated as his lackeys when you are not."

It was rather traumatising for him to see her almost break down into tears. She was too aware of her position, though, and managed to preserve her expression. Wen Ning put his hand to his eyes, trying to recover enough to save face and failing. He was afraid for his life, for his sister, for his clan members. As a man, he was supposed to be strong for them. He looked exhausted and ready to throw himself onto his knees to bang his head on the ground, but Wen Qing caught him by the robes and held him up in one hand.

"We will not beg you." She said, articulately. "But I am open to hearing more about this. As a healer, I have no objection to treating someone, regardless of their sect. That, of itself, is treason to Wen Ruohan. All of the people here are already dead in his eyes." She gestured to the people around her. "We are the only survivors of The Purge carried out in recent weeks."

"Purge?" Wei Ying frowned, alarmed to hear that. "That is something the Mixed Colours do need to know about, Wen Qing. Although they hate Wen Ruohan, Nie Mengjue, Jiang Fangmian, and Lan Xichen are not prejudice and will not hunt you down arbitrarily. Of others, I'm not so sure." He looked over the men, now gathered into a clump behind her, and pursed his lips. "You are welcome to come to Burial Mound, then. It's not a pretty place, but there are others of your name there. They have all settled down now and are remembering how to be normal humans. They have need of a healer as well." He moved a few steps closer. "That can happen slowly, over time. Whenever you are fit to travel. But today, I have brought one with me and we are heading to Nightless City as soon as he can move."

Wen Qing bit her lip in consternation, but then she nodded. "Clear a space!" She gestured, sweeping her sleeves out; it was her signature move, almost; her eyes bright and mouth set. "I will not hide from this man or any man. Make it known that, as of now, Yiling Kòngzhì means us no harm!"

Returning to the slag pile, Wei Ying was pleased to note that Jiang Cheng had not tried to leave. He was restless and cross but either his wound hurt too much or he had learned some measure of prudence at Chongyang. Helping him to walk was harder on his pride than his body, so Wei Ying let him go just as they walked into the annexe. He was quite surprised to find himself facing not only a woman but one wearing the robes of his enemy. Yet, she had a blood-stained apron on over that, her hair was tied back severely, and she was rummaging around in a basket of medical supplies.

Making him sit on the mat, under a half caved-in armada, Wei Ying nodded once. "She is an expert healer and worth her weight in gold. I don't care if she wears red and white, gold, or nothing at all...that is up to her." He looked up at her as she turned sharply. "I mean your 'colours', ma'am."

"Hmph!" She did not dignify his bad wording, her brows furrowed dramatically. She reached out, her hand moving swiftly but gently to remove Jiang Cheng's upper clothing. There was nothing untoward about it and her eyes were professionally intrusive. "This is a blow that could have killed you. You must have had a guardian spirit standing guard over you. It will take only a few hours to heal this wound using Qi Gong." She glanced over, sharply. "Does demonic cultivation have medical applications?"

"Yes, it does. However, while it can augment, it cannot do the job on its own." Wei Ying held up his hands, flexing them. "And if it goes out of control, the side effects are worse."

She was intrigued, but she knew they were not in the mood to discuss it at length. She made Cheng drink Elixir and then sitting behind him in the lotus position, she held her hands palm-out to his back. Her fiery yang qi was as intense as any man's. It seemed her entire body was engulphed in the bright colours, her hair waving just a little. Cheng was also burning his qi, but it was not as clearly defined as hers. Furthermore, Wei Ying could see that in Wen Qing, there was Yin mixed in. It was supporting, intensifying, and diluting the yang energy so that she could apply it to another person's body without burning them.

Remembering how he had done something similar by borrowing Lan Zhan's yang energy, Wei Ying put a hand to his chin. He felt almost embarrassed for some reason. He decided it was nerves and dismissed it from his mind. Jiang Cheng slept for just thirty minutes after the session, to allow his body to stabilized. Once he was up, he drank clean water and ate simple rice congee. He had a scar on his chest still, which would fade over the following week, but he was fit and able to fight again. As such, he wanted to hurry up and go.

"You are welcome to come with us." Wei Ying said, looking Wen Qing in the eyes. "There are sure to be many wounded on both sides."

She frowned, considering this for a moment. "No." She said. "I think that that is where I must draw a line. I will heal all wounded who need me, yes, but going to Nightless City is..." She bit her lip, something like a shudder passing over her although she disguised it well. "...I am a _healer_. I will not take to the battlefield. And Wen Ning is...!"

"_A-Jie,_ I want to go." Wen Ning said, suddenly, speaking barely above a whisper. "I want to go w-w-with Wei Shixiong. I think, if I don't go, I won't e-ever b-be-be able to." He was half bent and clinging to his bow, his eyes down. He looked anything but strong-willed or ready for battle. It was hard to remember he was the same age as them, what with his baby face and timid personality.

Jiang Cheng was giving him a rather sad, pitying look.

Nodding once, Wei Ying turned to look at Wen Ning. "That is actually a good thing. You can tell everyone about this purge and what happened to the annexes."

Wen Qing looked even more like she was about to cry. She put a hand to her brother's face. "If you fight, fight with honour. And if you die, die protecting someone." She nodded to him, giving her permission to go, even if her eyes said she wanted to tie him up and keep him in a basket.

Wen Ning flung his arms around his sister, almost knocking her over. He held her very tightly before he swallowed, took a deep breath, and turned to step into the darkness. The worm-hole had not shocked him even a little bit. It was a step no one forced him to take. He did it of his own initiative and by his own will.

This impressed even Jang Cheng, who folded his arms. "Are you really a Wen?" He asked, softly. "I found most Wen to be very arrogant people, even if not innately evil. Yet, recently, the members of the Wen clan seemed to have been...corrupted in their minds and souls."

Wen Ning looked sad at the question, rather than offended. "It was taught to us that we were never to be satisfied. If we were to take second place at anything, we were worthless humans that deserved death. If we took first place, then we were only as good as everyone else. From when I can remember, there was never a day in the Wen clan that was like family. Only because we are a branch did we get any respite. My sister is very skilled at everything she does and her abilities are rare even among cultivators. Because of this, we lived within our means until our parents died." He trembled, looking at the darkness below his feet, his eyes very wide. Each step he took was something he did deliberately. As if he was used to walking amid the utter darkness, without any sign he was making progress or heading in the right direction. "After that, just once, she was summoned up to Nightless City. I thought I would surely never see her again. I was taken to a holding cell and kept there until her turn came. Then I was taken to the hall with some others around my age, both males and females, and made to kneel." He licked his lips, hugging his bow to his chest. "If she failed even once in answering Wen Ruohan's test questions, then I would be killed immediately. The same with the others. There were five women alongside my sister. When one of them made a mistake, her younger sister's head was cut off."

Jiang Cheng stared at him, his mouth open. "You didn't revolt?"

"I was ten. I couldn't do anything. I am a weak person." He admitted to it. "The only thing I could do to protect my sister was to practice my archery in secret. Because it is always a matter of having to be better than others, so weak people like me are considered as stepping-stones. If there are no weak people at all, then they cannot be better than someone, so I was allowed to exist for that reason. That is, I was there to be bullied and ridiculed." He smiled, just a little. A humble smile, as if he was proud of this unwholesome purpose. "And if it was me being harassed, then my sister looked even better; she would shout at me and hit me so that they would not take me away."

Sighing Wei Ying rubbed his face. "So when I stood up for you at the archery tournament, it was not doing you any favours."

"They thought it was to make fun of me, so nothing happened. Rather, it was because you insulted Wen Chao that things went wrong." Wen Ning looked to the side. "I only heard in passing that Wen Chao was scared when he did not rank among the top young masters. He did not know if he would be disinherited or tortured or killed. If he was killed, that was just the end of it, but if not..." Wen Ning looked down. "...then, later on, he was put in charge of the young masters and set the task of slaying whatever was in the cave. My sister told me that it was likely his life was on the line."

Remembering how Zhuliu had spoken at Lotus Pier and how Wen Chao had behaved while in the cave, Wei Ying thought he came to understand things a bit better. "So when he ordered that girl to be bled, that was just 'a matter of course'. It wasn't even seen as something cruel by the Wen Sect."

"What?" Jiang Cheng looked disgusted. "This is truly insanity!"

"The Wens at Burial Mound acted like they were intoxicated." Wei Ying replied, gesturing airily. "I brought in some to watch them, Cheng. We have thousands of people all moving to one man's tune? Why? It made no sense to me that they would all be as corrupt as all that. Especially if they would throw themselves at my feet." He frowned. "No, it reminded me of drunks. Mean drunks are often horrified by their behaviour after the stupor ends. They almost all collapsed at some point. A few became increasingly paranoid and killed themselves but the rest are practically normal. They've started living in family units and establishing a code of conduct for themselves." He looked at Cheng astonished expression. "Something a ten-year-old can tell you is scary and wrong becomes somehow acceptable, because it's part of the established society."

They came out of the worm-hole ten miles from Nightless City. Immediately, Zhuliu ran towards him, taking up a position to his right. Wen Ning stared at him, shuddered, and fixed his eyes on the ground. All he had was his bow and quiver, his distressed robes, and his boots. Jiang Cheng had his sword and whip, but nothing else.

Wei Ying was packing his usual arsenal.

The siege was four days already and there was no sense of if they were making any headway. As usual, they were having a meeting. They could not just continuously attack, whatever legends would say later on. Siege battles did not work that way. They had to carefully plan each assault so that they minimized the casualties and find their way in so they could over-throw Wen Ruohan under the best circumstances.

Lan Xichen had a bandage on his hand but was otherwise fully on his feet. His uncle was with him, giving advice where needed. Nie Mengjue was nursing an obvious bad mood, but his younger brother was there to help take his mind of it when needed. Fangmian was also there, at the council table. He left the leading of the troops up to his wife and focused on the tactics. Naturally, as soon as Jiang Cheng appeared under the awning, Fangmian rose and took his son into his arms. "We heard Chongyang fell and feared the worst, but then received a messenger bird just hours later saying you were alive. Are you well enough to fight?"

"I will fight!" Jiang Cheng insisted. "I have come all this way to fight with you! It was, indeed, a massacre at Chongyang. I failed to keep the fort." He bowed low, his hands together, his expression pinched. "Fifty...fifty of the cultivators under my command were captured and executed..."

Fangmian winced. He put his hands on Cheng's shoulders. He could not say anything that would not simply grind home how painful that was. Nor did he have further time for sentiment.

"And you've brought a dog to a wolf-den." Nie Mengjue snapped, his eyes blazing. "Why is there are Wen here?!"

Wen Ning was hiding behind him. There were a few bold enough to approach him as if they would drag him off, but Wei Ying only had to turn his eyes and they backed off again. He tipped his head, emanating a cold aura. It made those nearest to him shiver. "Hello." He nodded to the other Sect Leaders, bowing to Lan Xicheng and Fangmian. Finally, he turned to Nie Mengjue and offered his respects. "This is Wen Ning, he's here as my ally. He has important things to tell us about the mentality of the Wens." He gave a very basic preliminary explanation and then lifted a finger. "I also brought him here because he is a Wen. We can say we are correct because we want to believe in our own point of view. That's all fine and wonderful _for us_. Let's say we won the war right now? And? Are we going to kill all thirty thousand of them on the spot? What of their women? Children? Are there slaves in that building that just want to go home?" He folded his arms, scowling into the middle distance. "Wen Ning belongs to a branch clan and wears the robes, which is something we've yet to see on our side. Apart from the dead who don't have a choice. If even the Red and White join our Mixed Colours, then we are truly the righteous ones."

"Hearing that from a demonic cultivator is all kinds of disturbing." Nie Mengjue said, looking away, his jaw off-kilter. "And that's the only reason you brought this man with you? He does not look like a fighter."

"He's a good shot with a bow, provided you don't make a spectacle of him. He can also tend to injuries. His elder sister is Wen Qing." Wei Ying expected some to recognise the name, but Nie Mengjue slammed both hands on the table, his expression becoming for serious again. "Yes, _that_ Wen Qing. She is waiting at another location and wishes to remain neutral. She will heal anyone that needs it. Of course, she would need supplies and assistance if the numbers are this many."

"That's not the point!" Nie Huaisang said, fluttering his hands. "Wen Qing is known among the list of Young Ladies. She is possibly the best healer of our time. Knowing that she is not loyal to Wen Ruohan is already a major advantage, but that she would consider healing our people is tremendous news!" He frowned, looking at Jiang Cheng for a moment. "Is it because of Wen Qing that Young Master Jiang was able to join us?"

Jiang Cheng turned, bowing to the assembly. "I was stabbed to the left of my heart and my lung was affected. I was also infected with Corpse Poison. The Wens that attacked Chongyang were insane. Some stabbed themselves on their swords and died immediately; their blood was contaminated and infected those of us left. Wei Wuxian dealt with the poison, but it was indeed Wen Qing who fully mended my wound." He then bowed again and stepped back to stand beside his father.

"Corpse Poison, is it? That is Wen Ruohan's answer to the corpse army you raised, Patriarch." Mengjue said, somewhat scathingly, looking over at him with sullen eyes. "You turned a living man into a zombie. He is threatening us with the same."

Nodding once, Wei Ying smiled. "Yes, but he's making a big mistake if he thinks that is without risks to him." He put a finger to his chin. "Zhuliu here is not precisely the obedient doll he looks like. He won't attack, don't worry; if he did attack anyone, it would be me. I turned him into what he is, so he hates me the most." He put a hand to his chest. "That is the risk I take and the price I pay. But, Wen Zhuliu _consented_. These men, I don't know if they consented or they were forced. Either way, they will hate him far more than the normal corpses of his enemies."

"So...in the end, it just gives you more people to turn into zombies?" Jin Guangshan asked, from behind his fan. He looked somewhat disgusted and hated being there.

"No, I'm saying that they could well go on a rampage all on their own." Wei Ying replied, almost wishing this man would just go home and sleep around. He did not contribute much to tactics and left the fighting up to his sons. "I don't control every zombie that ever was, right? Aside from Zhuliu, I have not actually _made_ anyone a zombie. I only invite them to fight for me. They are _already corpses_, is what I'm saying. Its betrayal that hurts the most."

Wen Ning gulped, not unlike a frog, and came out from behind him. He was almost folded in half, holding his bow passively. "I-I-I-I want to...stop...them. I p-p-probably c-can't do much. I jus-just want t-to be a b-bit useful." He was stuttered very badly, speaking before them all. "I think...about...the p-p-people like me and...I...I want to to...save them!"

Fangmian moved at the same time Lan Xichen did. They approached him carefully, showing they were not going to hit him. Lan Xichen was worried that he had been hurt by the Wen clan, but Fangmian was worried he was going to hyperventilate. As they were nice to him, he gave them a rundown on the purge. It started bad, got worse, and ended horrifically. It was not something they had anticipated. Too easy to look at them as a cohesive whole, when they were anything but. Wen Ning shuddered a little, wiping the tears from his face. "I...am not...a very important or...skilled man. I am...very weak. But I felt like I...needed...to...fight with...Wei Shixiong. Or I would...not...be me...anymore."

Wei Ying chuckled. "Don't sell yourself too sort." Slipping an arm along his shoulders, Wei Ying pointed to a nearby tree. A target hung upon it. "Come, look at that target. It's perfect for you. That target, let's see..." He waited as Wen Ning obediently put up an arrow. "...is the man who cut off that girl's head."

His eyes almost became reptilian. Wen Ning's bolt flew straight and true. There was something in the stance of an obsessive archer; someone who did nothing else and strengthened their upper body and arms to fire a hundred shots before tiring. That was how his hands and posture looked. The half-bent weed of a boy had gone and they were looking at a very fine man. The arrow was so deeply embedded in the heart of the target they could not pull it out. They had to cut it out. At a hundred yards he had made a killing shot look effortless. All that Wen passion was inside him, waiting to spill out, to protect others; the way his clan should rightly have been.

It was enough to impress the others, anyway.

Wei Ying turned aside and took a deep breath. While Nie Mengjue commanded the shot and saw to fitting him with an archer's guard for his chest, and Jiang Cheng filled Fangmian in on his adventures, and the Lan uncle and nephew took the change to just have some quiet moments, Wei Ying inwardly shouted in triumph.

While he still did not know what was going to happen with Wen Ruohan or Jin Guangyao or even Jiang Cheng, he had just prevented one fate. The future had shifted again. Now that so many people had come to know Wen Ning he would not be beaten to death. Wei Ying smiled, giddy with his accomplishment, and turned toward the advance line forming. Lan Zhan had come from somewhere with a group of Lan warriors and gave him a sharp, intense look up and down, his hand hovering near Bichen. "Let's have some fun, Lan Zhan!" He called out, waving to his friend and laughing at his mortified expression. Drawing alongside him, Wei Ying assumed a gentler smile, reach out to pat his shoulder; a brief contact that would not upset the swan too much. "Seriously, Lan Zhan. I will pull out everything I have today. I'm going for it! I feel really good right now, so it's fine with me. I'll leave the rest to you." Looking up at the sky, he realised he meant his words. "It's a good day to die, you know?"


	12. Bond - Part One

Wei Ying stood looking up at the sky. His body was shaking. Blood was running from many cuts on his body and his nose. His ears were plugged up with blood. Around him, on the split ground, there was more blood.

Nightless City was smouldering. There were red and black and green flames all around, trapping those within to a greater extent. If anyone touched those flames they would be incinerated.

That was not all; he called upon the earth, upon the water. The earth under their feet was bucking, splitting open, and jutting upward. Tall peaks were forced through the flagstone of the central court. The water filled the chasms rent open, rising blacker than the robes on his back or the tendrils of hair wafting around him. If anyone drew too near the edges, hands would reach out to snag their clothes or ankles and drag them into the void.

It was a cruel, haunting scene.

Although he was situated in a more convenient location and was not on the front line, he was controlling the field itself. He had a reason to destroy it all. Not only the war with the Wen Sect but that terrible night when everyone had turned against him; it had been here, in this place. He hated it! He wanted the stones to burst. His rage, betrayal, and sorrow were competing against the emotions of the million dead within his veins. It drove them mad and they drove him mad. He bent double, screaming, letting it all out, and the earth screamed with him.

At a distance, his darklings told him what was happening. They had broken through the majority of defences and battle was taking place in each of the platforms he had created by breaking apart the city. Jiang Cheng was fighting with a few hundred clan members, keeping the vanguard's back safe. Jin Zixuan was in another area, pointing dramatically as he commanded from the rear; that was a better position for him, with his sharp eyes. Nie Huaisang had taken up a position at the defence line to make sure no one escaped; he directed the wounded off-loading from the field.

Wen Ruohan stood before his citadel with his ever-present smile. He was perfect, immaculate. His robes had no wrinkle or stain. His face was poised in haughty disdain. Even as the walls to either side of him cracked and crumbled away, he stood there regally. He was looking down at them. To him, there was only defeat ahead. Even he knew that. Yet there was something they could not overcome; he was just one man and they were many. It had only been through their collective effort that they could defeat the Wen Sect and Wen Ruohan.

Aside from Jin Guangshan, who had remained at the defence line, those in the lead were the Sect Leaders of the Great Sects. Risking their lives and cultivation for victory and justice. When they were met by their cardinal enemy, Nie Mengjue attacked first.

Wen Ruohan cast Nie Mengjue aside like a five-year-old. He narrowed his eyes at Lan Xichen as if he was only a butterfly coming to flirt with him. Lan Wangji appeared, backing his brother up, but he did not even get spared a glance and was thrown down the steps so that he lay dazed at the base. All Wen Ruohan had to do was lift his hands and they were flung back and bruised all over. Madam Yu snapped Zidian, a weapon able to cleave a man in half if she wanted, and he caught the blow on his forearm. Sparks snapped blue, gold, and violet. He was not injured, but at least the blow had landed.

Yu Ziyuan gritted her teeth because his Qi coiled around Zidian and her, forcing her back and down, pinning her to the ground. A detestable move toward a woman. Fangmian appeared at her side, able to dispel the Qi bindings on his wife with a command, and cast a hate-filled glare toward Wen Ruohan; there were burns on her porcelain skin from where the Qi had touched her.

A shadow behind Wen Ruohan was Jin Guangyao. He was leaning up at a column, watching the battle with distant eyes. There was something so bitter in his expression that tears rushed down Lan Xichen's face. At that moment, they all believed he had sided with Wen Ruohan. How many lives he had cost them, they could not know, but Nie Mengjue cursed him. He did not seem to take note of them but was staring down the steps, as if waiting for someone else, someone more important to him.

Wen Ruohan took a breath through his nose and turned his back on them. It was a very strange thing for him to do; in compounded every offence and exaggerated how little he thought of them. He looked up at Nightless City. It truly was an amazing edifice. Even half-demolished, it was a testament to human skill. There were over a thousand years of Wen history in this place and he was the current Lord and Master. Then, with an air of setting aside some annoyance, he turned back to them; he licked his lips, adjusted his robes and hair, and looked to either side with a gracious expression. As if he was everyone's beloved father or elder brother. It was a truly beautiful smile there, with welcoming eyes. "What troublesome children we have today." He said, his voice echoing over the whole of Nightless City.

It was such blatant condescension.

It was such utter arrogance.

Wei Ying knew at that moment that they could not overcome Wen Ruohan. He was not something they could crack. He would never fall before them. They might kill his body, eventually. But his mentality had surpassed the thinking of a normal human and he would only sneer at them.

Even if he was torn limb from limb, he would still be sneering.

Likely, no one but Wei Ying could hear it. A sigh escaped into the ether. Of someone who had been waiting endlessly and finally given up. A lithe shadow moved. There was a small sliver thread at Wen Ruohan's chest. A trickle of red ran down his chin. He was still smiling. He turned his attention to the front, a small frown appearing on his brow; the white of his smooth robes was turning red. He turned, showing off the short sword stuck into his back, and lifted his hand; he had very long, sharp nails, almost claws, but his hand was relaxed and gentle. It hovered there at that person's face, leaving a small pat before he crumpled on himself.

He slid down, collapsing at Jin Guangyao's feet.

Lan Xichen was at his side before anyone else, pulling him into a half hug. He was extremely emotional, patting him all over for injuries. "Say something?!" Lan Xichen begged as Nie Mengjue kept a defensive stance and Fangmian helped Yu Ziyuan to sit up. "Why did you not say anything until now?!"

Jin Guangyao looked disgusted, to say the least. Tears rushed down his face and he put a hand to his head, laughing. "I..." He said, his voice raw and patchy. "...liked him." He had a smile, wiping his face like a young child. There was no blood on him. He was wearing the robes of the Jin Sect under those of the Wen Sect; truly a mixed colour. "It's so messed up. I hated him. He was a terrible person! _Have you any idea the things he made me do_?!" He shouted, loudly, screaming at Lan Xichen. "But he forgot. Sometimes, he forgot who I was. He..." He swayed, leaning on Lan Xichen heavily, holding his hair as if he would rip it out. "...called me his son."

Even though he was fairly battered, Lan Xichen rightly saw that Jin Guangyao was in much worse condition and carried him down the steps to the open area. He looked around for Wangji, but he was missing from the place he had landed. Biting his lower lip, Lan Xichen focused himself on laying Jin Guangyao on a slightly cleaner patch of stone and adjusting his clothes. He was suffering from something, black lines running over his skin from meridian to meridian.

Mengjue's face drew in and he gritted his teeth. "What devilry is this?" He asked, glancing around. "Oi, 'Grandmaster', you've got a job to do here!" He called out, loudly, but with disdain.

Wei Ying felt that deserved a slap.

The blood was dripping from his fingertips and the tips of his hair. He could feel it had soaked into all layers of his clothing. A pool of it was around him. His limbs no longer worked and he had collapsed onto the ground. He was seated and leaning to the side against a column; he thought it was a miracle the column had not fallen on him.

The black was draining from his hair. The Abyss had had her fill and retreated into the water. He watched in amazement as the black in the water faded, leaving it clear and beautiful. The haze and vapour dissipated, although the smoke remained. The flames dwindled and turned a normal colour before snuffing out. Several more walls collapsed, but aside from that, there was stillness around him.

As the word went out that Wen Ruohan was dead, the flares of all the Sects burst in the sky. There was one wave of cheering after another. The Wens who were still alive sat around, sobbing in despair or relief. Wen Ning had gathered up a group of them and rushed down into the dungeons to release all the people held captive under Nightless City. These came up, in a raggle-taggle army, to either redress their pains or collapse in the arms of their loved ones.

Wei Ying chuckled. That was good enough, he thought. He had corrected all the wrongs in history and the future was looking wonderful. Jin Zixuan would probably fall in love with Yanli at some point and they would live happily ever after...as long as he was not there. If he was not here, there would be no Ghost General, no one to accuse of anything, and no one to accidentally kill him in such a stupid way. Thereby, Yanli was safer. She would not be slashed on her back or stabbed through her throat.

There was also Jiang Cheng. He had his parents' love and attention, at long last, and would grow up a proud but kind man. He would not have to compare himself to any pseudo brother.

Using a little of his power, just a little, he listened in on their conversation. Wei Ying smiled as people began to ask where he could be and what he was doing. Jiang Cheng was suffering pains due to his chest wound, but he was holding it together, trying to remain strong and stony-faced. Nie Huaisang was fretting, biting his nails and pulling on his hair.

It was entirely the wrong moment for Jin Guangshan to come wandering up, evidencing no real concern for his sons, and ask in a drawling voice if he was dead.

Jiang Cheng formed a fist and punched him in the face. "You pompous ass!" He snarled, holding him by his robes and shaking the Sect Leader brutally. "Your son is practically dying already! Don't you have better things to say than other people's deaths!" He was so angry, trembling all over, that no one moved to touch him in those moments. "Wei Wuxian is my brother! My brother! He's _not_ dead!"

It took both Fangmian and Yu Ziyuan to pull him back and control him, leaving Jin Guangshan a much-abused heap on the bloody ground. Even Jin Zixuan was somewhat embarrassed and disgusted by the remark. Yet he sighed and rubbed his face. "Although that was the wrong way to put it, I am also concerned. Normally he would be floating around in the sky, upsetting everyone's minds. Yet there is no sign of him!" He folded his arms, his golden robes shimmering under the diffused daylight. "And there is cause for my words! I do no speak idly on such matters!" He held up his wrist, showing off that the darkling around his arm had withered and turned grey.

Nie Huaisang collapsed onto his brother, sobbing. His Huán Máo was also grey and disintegrating.

"Wei Wuxian." Jiang Cheng muttered, looking over the sky, holding his own cupped in his hands.

Heaving a sigh, Wei Ying felt somewhat comforted by this show of sympathy. He could not listen in on them any longer. All the darklings had died off. Most of the undead under his control collapsed and disintegrated. The juts of earth folded on themselves, leaving the people scattered around nervous; they were never in any danger, though. He smiled as he closed his eyes; yes, these people.

He had been murdered once by his enemy and once by his shidi. Now, his shidi was fighting tears for his sake. Looking around, feeling that this filthy, out of the way place was fitting for him, Wei Ying swallowed the desire to sob and tried to convince himself that the only thing left for him to do was die.

And then, when he was on the verge of consenting, a voice called out to him.

"_Wei Ying!_" Lan Zhan had a bloodied sleeve and was limping. He came quickly, though, hopping from one tattered embankment to the next and finally stopping at the edge of the blood. He looked over the large amount with his eyes wavering; they were so pale and each of his lashes seemed to stand out in contrast. His white boots were already dirty, so he lifted his hem and walked across the blood to kneel beside him. Immediately, the white of his robes was stained. It would never be made right again. His hands were shaking as he reached out, touching his hand.

Of course, he was cold.

"Wei Ying." Lan Zhan bowed his head, tears hovering on those lashes. "Why must you tear yourself apart?! As if you were endlessly punishing yourself! Why can you not love yourself even a little?!"

Surprised to hear him say such words, Wei Ying felt tears run from his own eyes. The ice in his soul was melting and the consent vanished that easily. "_I don't want to die!_" He snapped, shortly. Blood ran over his chin and throat. "What am I supposed to do now?! Lan Zhan, what is it you think I am?! I have no home, no future! I'm just waiting around for them to find fault with me!" He shut his eyes against the future he wanted and the future he knew would come if he did not let them go.

"The future is not for certain!" Lan Zhan replied, sternly. "It is something we create, born as we go from moment to moment. We choose it for ourselves. Sometimes, we make the wrong choice, as Wen Ruohan undoubtedly did. Once..." He frowned, looking aside and struggling with his words. His hands were shaking. It was taking every ounce of courage he had to speak such words, but he forced himself to do it. "...there was a man who loved too deeply. His love was a wild and temperamental person. He coveted this person, locking them away where only he could see them. That person did not protest it but never condoned it; it was a trapped loved. He loved as no one else could love and from that love came two blessings. Terrible blessings that should not have been." He frowned, his mouth pouting; more tears ran over his face. "It was a terrible love, but it was also true. They are both beyond me, now, but I still respect them a great deal."

Having heard vague rumours about Lan Zhan's mother and the confinement in the Cloud Recesses, Wei Ying swallowed the blood in his throat. Had Lan Zhan thought himself a child that should not have been born? Did he resent the father who had imprisoned the mother? For what reason did a man lock up a woman, anyway? How was a child supposed to cope with being raised in that kind of situation?

All of Lan Zhan's strange behaviours suddenly began to make sense. Wei Ying felt disoriented and a little insane. It was not a statement he had ever thought he would hear, definitely, and he was not sure what to do with it. What he did know, deep in his heart, was that Lan Zhan, _the_ Lan Wangji, had just said the word 'love'. It was strange but fitting. He felt overwhelmed by it, but also relieved it had finally been spoken. As if he had been waiting for thousands of years to hear those words. Tears flooded down again and he turned his hand, reflexively, to hold onto Lan Zhan's.

"_They left me_!" He shouted, finally speaking the hateful words in his heart. "Why did they leave me behind?! Who the hell leaves their four-year-old to go night hunting?! Why doesn't anyone want me?!" He curled up, shuddering. The blood was no longer flowing and the cuts were sealing themselves, but he was still in critical condition. He heaved a sigh, leaning heavily on Lan Zhan's chest.

He took the weight.

"I'm so tired." Wei Ying mumbled. He was almost unable to think.

An arm came up around him protectively.

"Will you take care of me?" He asked, not sure what the response would be. At that moment, Lan Zhan could say anything. Wei Ying felt that his very soul was wavering, trying to both anchor to his body and escape it.

"For the rest of my life." Lan Zhan replied, very softly. "If you wish it."

It permeated. He felt like he could believe Lan Zhan. Or perhaps he only wanted to. He felt a little giddy; like he had a secret no one could ever guess. He also felt like he could sleep, without nightmares, for the first time in a long time. Smiling, letting his eyes close, he clasped Lan Zhan's sleeve.


	13. Bond - Part Two

Okay, a quick note. Sorry about the 3-day delay, life happened. Uhg. Now then, just as a refresher, Yin = earth, water, female. Yang = fire, air, male. Resentment is born when humans are conflicted and the other two go out of balance. I'm basing this on standard Dao (Tao) practice. Stories make it seem like the Yin-Yang principle is about good and evil, but originally, Yin-Yang practice had nothing to do with that.

We're coming on toward the end of this fic so I'm going to be tying up the loose ends from here on out. I'm hoping for 15 total chapters, but we'll see. Also, the knot mentioned in this chapter is a double infinity so please look up the image and meaning. I wanted to leave it subtle in the text. WWX and LZ are more or less 'together' at this point but _please_ do not interpret them as married or lovers because that is not even remotely realistic at this point.

Okay, that's all for now!

* * *

Wen Qing arrived on the field, some distance from Nightless City. If anyone was brought to her camp, she would treat them. She had amassed an army of medical persons, not all of whom were cultivators. Jin Guangyao was unconscious and brought to her on a stretcher. After studying the strange wound for some time, she clapped her hands and rubbed them, and applied them to his chest. His colour improved and he seemed to get a little better, but he also seemed to have more pain. It did not allow him to regain consciousness. Her look of consternation told all around that it was a serious wound.

Nearby, Lax Xichen was seated, supporting his head in one hand. He was already worried about too many things, so when the report came that Wangji was missing, he collapsed. Wen Qing immediately had him down to just his under shift, patting him with a cool rag; his complaint was pure exhaustion so it was simple enough to treat him.

There was also Wei Wuxian. He was also missing. The ghouls and zombies under his control had suddenly rotted away or else attacked those nearby them. They were quite weak and easily put down without their master. The trouble came from how exhausted everyone was after the battle. And thus, Wen Ning had had his moment. He had saved Nie Huaisang from being mauled and while his elder brother had trouble with his personality at times, he did not want to see him be eaten. The Wen folks under Wen Ning was humble and apologetic up to a certain point, but they were adamant that they had never sided with Wen Ruohan. Some believed them and some did not. There was talk of treating them all as prisoners of war, but Nie Mengjue weighed in and denied that as absurd.

If they had fought, even if not at Nightless City, then that needed to be taken into consideration.

Wen Qing joined deliberations and was open that Wei Wuxian had promised them his protection and a place in Burial Mound. Since no one else wanted to live there and it was a geographically isolated place, the Mixed Colours agreed to allow their migration to that spot. Further discussion would be needed to address individual wrongs, but those suits could be put to the Patriarch when he was found.

Jin Guangshan oversaw the looting of Nightless City. Anything that belonged to specific sects was properly returned to them over the following three days. Although he had not proven himself in combat, he did have a mind of administrative work. Jin Zixuan was put up as an ambassador of sorts and travelled around between the Sects, making sure they had all received their precious heirlooms back and obtaining written confirmation of its condition. If it arrived in a worse state than it had been found, that had to be accounted for, and the Jin clan was footing the bill for all of it. Thus, strict records keeping was absolutely essential.

Although there was some resentment between Jin Guangshan and Jiang Fangmian after Jiang Cheng's tableau, Jin Zixuan stayed at Lotus Pier for three long days. Gossip rushed through the community that, perhaps, there was some reason for him to want to stay there. Naturally, the only reason people could come up with was that there was a very pretty, eligible young lady there, whom he had previously been engaged to. Outsiders could not know why that engagement had been dissolved, but after so many deaths and losses, it was all anyone could hope for that there would be a union.

Fangmian did not care to push things and was more worried about his son than his daughter. Jiang Cheng was in bed those six days due to his chest wound and emotional indisposition. Like many of the younger generation, he was affected by nightmares and unstable Qi following the battle, and in his case, it was made all the worse by the fact that his Shixiong was missing.

After so many days of not finding either Wei Wuxian or Lan Wangji, some began to speculate that Wei Wuxian had kidnapped Lan Wangji for some terrible purpose. That he was captive in Burial Mound and could even come to harm there; perhaps to replace the Ghost General, Wen Zhuliu, whose corpse had been discovered. Not as a moving, fierce beast, but as a simple dead body. He had been arranged with his hands on his breast, his face serene, his sword at his side. That even his sword had been left indicated that it had been done reverently, but no one knew why Wei Wuxian would do that, and so, some people assumed it was some Wen Sect member.

Another three days, for a total of nine days, passed. Then, just as Lan Xichen was ready to mount his sword and go out looking for his brother himself, a young disciple came rushing in with the new. "Hanguang-Jun is back!" He called out, to all in the hall, with his high bell-like voice. "He's all clean and sparkly! But there is a very scary man with him, who is like a shadow. They are at the Jingshi!"

Holding his chest for a moment, Xichen swallowed and patted the child. He gave him a few hollow praises. This boy was one of the few children at the Cloud Recesses. Sects which were unable to recover had given up their orphans and remnants to the other, larger or better-established sects, to protect them. In some cases, as with this child, he had no understanding of how he had come to live there and was just trying his best to be useful.

Moving out of the hall, Xichen found Qi Ren was also coming. He paused, frowning at his uncle. In the nine days of Wangji's absence, he had gone through many emotional states. From angry, to confused, to irritated, to frightened, to introspective. He had wandered around as if searching for Wangji but seemed to be unaware of doing so. His words had started harsh and scolding, but by now, he was just so grateful that Wangji was alive that he had nothing in his mouth but thanks.

The Jingshi was partially a study room, partially Wangji's sleeping place. There was an inner room that could be shut for privacy where he kept a bed. A proper room would have been provided to the son of a Sect Leader, even a second son, but Wangji liked to be around books. He seemed to sometimes feel confined in the inner portion of the main building and had taken to staying at the separate house their mother had lived in or else the Jingshi.

Xichen was rushing. He was not quite running, but he was not walking sedately, either. He fully intended to pull Wangji into a hug the moment he saw him. Yet, when he did see him, he could not do that. Not that brutally. Because, Lan Wangji was standing there at the door, his eyes bright and clear, his robes straight and fresh...something in his posture had changed and Xichen felt a little thrill of sadness. His brother had become an adult. In the last nine days, he had left off with childhood and taken that next step.

Of course, Xichen was exceedingly proud of him.

It was also just a little sad.

Wangji bowed, his hands together, to him. He had a mild expression, yet he did not move from the doorway. He offered his respects to Qi Ren as well and then looked out over the nearby watercourse as if he was enjoying seeing it again.

From behind him, there was a rustle and a familiar face peeked from around his shoulder. There was something impish about him, but Wei Wuxian was also no longer a child. His cold and brutal glare was gone and he had refound his boyish smile, yet his gaze was sharp. His hair was only in a simple tail and he was wearing humble black robes. Nothing about his appearance would indicate he was called Grandmaster by some and Patriarch by others. There was no sword, but Chenqing was there on his belt.

Folding is hands, Lan Xichen greeted him. He wanted to show that he could be civil and accepting, even if they disagreed upon some points. He knew it was very hard for his uncle, nearby, but he could not act arrogantly toward this person. Not as a Sect Leader himself, nor as an older brother. He knew that Wangji cared very deeply for Wei Wuxian and considered him as his closest friend. Possibly his only friend. Or, perhaps, if he was reading the mood around them, something a little closer even than that.

We Wuxian returned the bow, with a fuller smile. "We came late, sorry. I had some things to take care of and Wangji kept me company while I sorted it all out."

"Could you not even send word? The entire cultivational world was looking for you!" Qi Ren asked, trying his hardest not to shout. His hands were clenched, but he managed to control himself and lowered his voice. "Where have you been?"

"I went up the Celestial Mountain." Wei Wuxian replied, calmly. As if this statement were something just anyone would blurt out; it was said as if he expected them to not only believe he knew where it was, how to get there, but had the right to ascend it. "I wondered, you know. If it was even there. So I had a friend take me up there. Wangji came with me for various reasons." He shrugged, his expression bittersweet and not inviting of questions. "Anyway, then we went to Burial Mound. I _do_ have things to do there since I am the Sect Leader. Even if not in the minds of outsiders, to those people I'm needed there. They've put in a lot of effort so I wandered around and showed my face. After that, I went to Lotus Pier. That was this morning." He tipped his head, just smiling capriciously at Qi Ren; it was that impish expression. "Is that detailed enough?"

He shifted, looking away. Of course, Qi Ren wanted to howl that even if he had business, Wangji did not need to go anywhere with him. He wanted to point out that he was just eighteen and not fit to be a Sect Leader. He wanted to dreg up that Demonic Cultivation was wrong. Instead, he turned away and leaned on the railing at the side of the bridge leading to the Jingshi. He let out a sigh, equal parts exasperation and relief. Even he was thankful that they were at least alive.

"Wei Ying." Wangji turned to look at him. As he moved, his sleeve shifted and there at his wrist was a black band set with a red knot. It was not a friendship knot, either.

Lan Xichen immediately shifted his eyes to Wei Wuxian's wrist. His left wrist, no less! There, a glint of blue was a coral bracelet. A white knot was at the centre point. Biting his upper lip, Xichen gave up on what to call that or how to think of it and smiled. He decided to be happy. He decided to be grateful. Even if he did worry, that was just his lot in life as the elder of them. But he knew from the shine in Wangji's eyes that the was not clouded in his judgement, and furthermore, was quite happy!

"I am thankful you are both well. We did worry you had been injured. There is...a somewhat pressing matter." Xichen sighed, folding up his arms. "It is very disagreeable and I apologise for my full speech, however, there have been some voices cast against you. It is because the undead became feral and attacked some cultivators. It seems your young associate Wen Ning put them all down. I take it you left the field only because it was absolutely necessary."

There was a pause, then Wei Wuxian looked pointedly at Wangji. It was as if he was saying 'there, you see'. Wangji's brows drew together and he turned his head sharply. "Disgusting." He snapped, clearly upset to the point he had to speak out about it. "Wei Ying suffered greatly for their sakes yet they must disparage him. Profane."

Impressed he would take it that far, Lan Xichen nodded slowly. "Yes, it is very dishonourable to speak of others so. Especially when we did not know what had become of you."

"People are just like that, I suppose." Wei Wuxian hooked his thumbs in his sash and let out a sigh. "But I came for a more pressing matter. I heard Jin Guangyao is here for his convalescence." He gestured that they could walk and set forth from the Jingshi. As he came out, the light shifted; it seemed to be different around him, but no longer to the point of making others cold. "I thought, based on Wen Qing's initial report, that I may be able to help. However, it will require cooperation from the Jin Clan. I think Jin Guangshan is also someone we need to keep in check."

"Oh, why is that?!" Qi Ren asked, glancing at him as he trailed behind them. "You still speak of your elders flippantly?"

"Elder, yes, but not superior. Ah, I guess you do not know yet." Wei Wuxian tucked his hands up behind his back, frowning. "I know its not your way to trade gossip, but this is not just something someone said. It actually happened. And it's relevant to Jin Guangyao because this is his father we're talking about." He pursed his lips. "As you know, Jin Zixuan is the hair and wears the golden robe. He's the only legitimate son. But, given the war and so many people dying, a spare was needed. Thus, Meng Yao was brought in. This is pretty obvious even to an outsider and not anything to comment about, except that Jin Guangyao really did a thing. He took on the most dangerous, brutal job, and he just showed everyone up. However, he's sick. This would all just be twaddle if it was not for Mo Xuanyu."

"Mo Xuanyu?" Lan Xicheng had a sinking feeling. "Oh, please tell me it is not as I think?!"

"Yes, he's thirteen." Wei Wuxian nodded. "He was accepted in as the 'spare of the spare', basically. Jin Guangshan is a man that gave up on respect and honour. I'd have to just ask him directly what started it, but you know..." He paused to glance at them both. "...when I slugged Jin Zixuan in the face it was not just because he dissed on my Shijie. That was just the trigger. It was because it looked like if I didn't hit him with everything I had he was going to up and implode on himself. Well, he grew up as the only son, where-as I had to compete. Servants are different from siblings!"

"You hit him for his own sake?" Lan Xicheng asked, lifting his eyebrows.

"I was angry, but I didn't think he was that bad. Just stuck on himself. Anyway!" Wei Wuxian gestured that aside. "The point is, Jin Guangyao was waiting. He waited and waited. I caught a glimpse of him on the steps. He's a great man, you could say, very intelligent. However, the wound he got was not to his body but to his soul. In that case, it had to be personal. If Jin Guangshan had come up those steps...he might have killed him instead of Wen Ruohan."

"Do you think so?" Xichen did feel that his sworn brother was in turmoil. "He has acted strangely since he woke. What you say makes sense to me as it would explain these behaviours. For, at moments he is very adult, but then he will act as a young child. In the later fit, he will only cry and call for his mother!" Guiding Wei Wuxian to the room set up for Jin Guangyao, Xichen cast a worried look over him. "You will not be...too harsh?"

"You're gonna be at a loss when you have kids." Wei Wuxian muttered, securing his hair a bit better and drawing the screen back. The patient was asleep at the moment, so he just adjusted his clothing and examined the wound. His expression was focused the entire time he held his hand over Jin Guangyao's naval. "Yes, okay." He said, putting his clothing to rights and looking up. "This is 'not good'. But I think I can help him with my methods. Wangji can help me with this and it is not demonic cultivation." He looked at Qi Ren. "Please stop talking about it like it's something evil! It's just Yin and that's nothing bad. The 'Ghostly Path' I choose to utilize begins and ends with resentment."

Qi Ren was frowning at him, but then he sighed and gestured. "It's just as well. We can do nothing and that is putting a strain on our already strained relations with the Jin Clan. Be that as it may! We tried to use what skills we have but to no avail. What are you going to do, precisely?"

Sighing, Wei Wuxian licked his lips. "Change the future." He said, with a beautiful smile on his face. "One moment at a time."


	14. Bond - Part Three

More notes! Yaay! I want to be clear about a few points, which may end up spoiling the punch or bite of the chapter, but meh.

Jin Guangshan is never fully depicted as a rapist and I wanted to explore the male side of vulnerability in this fic. Later on in the novel, there is mention that he forced someone, but we never get his testimony on that and I feel it would be unfair to cast that onto anyone without a fair trial. So I veered away from that route here and just tried to show him off as miserable. That he is also trapped by the 'rules'. I always felt that the Jiang couple got all the sympathy when the Jin couple had it worse. This is also something that gets passed on to the children. Jin Zixuan is first shown as arrogant but frustrated, but he's not a cad and he actually does speak his mind. He's just not nice about it. This is a clear sign of a troubled teen, who while wealthy, is not getting the emotional support he needs. Because the story focused so much on Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian, we never really get a good look at the psychology of the Jin family and that includes Guangyao/Meng Yao.

The other point I'm drawing here is that Wei Wuxian is lying. In the original novel, he tried it the 'honest route' and it didn't work. He is lying about the stygian seal, about his mother giving him these powers, and about the consequences he faces for using these methods. Only Lan Zhan knows about that at this point in the fanfic and is keeping his secret to protect the future generations for those consequences. This is where that whole 'good in the bad and bad in the good' of the yin-yang philosophy comes into play. Reality is based on what we believe; the truth is only important if it benefits people. So Wei Wuxian has forcibly changed reality and lied to prevent the future he already lived through, but he could not prevent certain events from happening, as he is the result or product of those events (thank you time loop 101).

And the concept of using the bones of the patient/victim, the blood of the caster/cultivator, and the alcohol as a shamanic medium is just drawn off every available source I could find so that's some actual real stuff there - please do not try that at home!

Kay, that's it, enjoy.

* * *

Jin Zixuan had never anticipated being summoned up to the Cloud Recesses at the request of a demonic cultivator. That combination just made no sense. However, he had come to comprehend a few things throughout the war and his sentiment when the bracelet on his wrist had withered had left him wondering if perhaps there was more to Wei Wuxian than met the eye. Certainly, Jiang Yanli was adamant that he was a genius. He had spent three long days at Lotus Pier with a sprained ankle and had expected it to be the worst three days of his life; instead, he could count them as some of the most pleasant.

Of course, the rumour mill had to turn it into something perverted. He did not even understand himself and he was being fixed up with some female?! One he had rejected once already. Her look of disdain when he insulted her brother had cut him to the wick, though. How could such a plain, uninteresting woman look like that?! He did not understand that!

The only thing he knew about women was to never trust them.

His father had too many women around all the time. Those gaggles of giggling, heavily perfumed ladies made him nauseous. From before he could walk he had understood that his mother and father did not love each other. His mother hated his father. His father was afraid of his mother. They did not part because convention would not allow it. Not for people of their station. He had been told, since before walking, that he had a fiancé. There was no way out of it if it was arranged from birth. For the sake of his mother's friendship with Madam Yu, he had to marry the girl chosen for him...just like his father.

Just like her father, from what people said. Jiang Yanli's parents did not have a stable relationship, either. But, it was better than his parents. As parents, he could consider them useless. Just that his mother had kept him alive and protected him from politics until he had turned ten. Then he had joined his father more often and gone to lessons with the older Sect members. To learn cultivation, yes, but that came after politics.

He had wanted to believe his father was just pretending to be that way, but at ten, those hopes had been entirely dashed. It was strange really. Just once, he had seen his father tremble. He had been chastised for another assignation with some woman outside the clan. Zixuan had hidden behind a screen, holding his hands over his mouth, through the entire gut-clenching tirade. His mother had hit his father across the face, swearing that if he sired another bastard she would castrate him.

From then on, Zixuan had come to realize his father lived in fear for his life every day.

He did not want to be like either of those people!

And then there was his brother. Meng Yao had come up the steps during his coming of age ceremony to ask for money. He had needed living expenses. If he had been given the Swallow Robes of the branch sect and some small allowance, that would have been fine. Even on such an auspicious day, Zixuan would have not minded that. Instead, some asshole had had to knock him down the Longest Stair until he was bruised over half his body! They could not just turn him away after that! They had had him in, tended his injuries, given him food and money, and provided him with manuals for cultivation.

Jin Zixuan had not given it much thought at that time, but Meng Yao was the same age as himself. He had managed to, on just the surplus money of a prostitute, develop a golden core and train his meridians to such an extent. How was that even possible? What was the wealth of the Jin Clan if he could do that on mere bronze coins? It had been a wake-up call in many ways for Zixuan to realise he had to measure up to such a person.

His 'spare'.

He had heard his father mention that, telling Meng Yao to his face that that was his role. To provide a back-up in case the heir ever met an accident. It could happen on a Night Hunt or illness...people did die, after all. For the first time, hearing those hateful words, Zixuan had understood that the Sect Leader was not a father. He did not get to be a father or brother or husband.

The needs of the many, as it were.

The war had done so much damage. From when his shidi had been shot with arrows after escaping the cave, Zixuan had been ready to join forces with anyone and have a war. His father had held back and held back, but eventually, he had been forced to join the others. Zixuan had expected a straight-forward campaign. Maybe, they would not even win. He had been content to go out with a bang, though, side-by-side with his sect brothers!

Instead, his 'spare' had been sent.

Jin _Guang_yao, was it? He had been used for something like that. Had he volunteered for _that_? He had _wanted_ the risk and therefore the reward? Was he _that_ cunning? Did he want acknowledgement _that badly_?!

Biting his lip as he stomped through the Cloud Recesses, Zixuan half wanted to grab Meng Yao by the robes and give him a good shake. He also kind of wanted to do that to their father.

His father was Meng Yao's father!

It had finally been rammed home when he had seen the closeness between the Jiang Siblings. The Twin Jades did not really register as human to him and he rarely saw them, in any case, but the Jiang Siblings made him subconsciously jealous. He had more siblings than anyone else in the Cultivation world, but the one right there living in the same house, was just 'the spare'!

It did not help anyone's ego that another one had turned up, either.

Mo Xuanyu was thirteen years of age, but he had the mentality of a child. He was thin, weak, shy, knew nothing of the wide-world. The only thing Zixuan saw in him was another body to use as a shield. A body that had a golden core. It was just about that, in the end. He could not even fault the Sect Leader for doing that and that made him extremely angry.

Someday, he would likely have to think about such things. It made his stomach hurt. He rubbed his brow as he faced the door to a separate room; it was in the auspicious shape of an octagon. That was, probably, so that an array could be put up inside it. He thought he detected Qi from the walls to hold in power. It was quite a large room, practically a house, but there was no glass in the windows. The design of the lath fitting was also a type of array.

What was he supposed to say to these people? He could not even begin to formulate that. So, he could only play it by ear. Worst case, he would just have a row with Wei Wuxian. He expected one of the Lan siblings to open the door, or even Wei Wuxian himself, but it was none of them.

A humble-faced man with brown hair stood there, a bit shorter than himself. He somehow managed to look many times shorter than he was without actually folding in half. His robes were white and red, but the Wen motif was missing and he had arranged his hair differently. Wen Ning smiled, folding his hands and bowed. "Young Master Jin." He seemed to be delighted to see anyone, although his round eyes held a world of sorrows and not a little fear. "Wei Shixiong is waiting."

"Hmpf! I wonder." He came into the room cautiously.

An array was stencilled on the floor but not drawn. There were several pots scattered around with large brushes lying next to them. Wei Wuxian was on his knees, looking at some scrolls, his eyes focused intensely upon his blueprints; his hair and state of dress were deplorable, there were ink smudges on his hands and face, and he looked up with his tongue held between his lips.

Never having seen anyone in such a state, Jin Zixuan had a slight break down. It was only for a moment. Yet he questioned everything in the universe and felt exceedingly traumatised. Wei Wuxian made no sense! He contradicted everything about the cultivation world! Sect Leaders did not sit on their knees in their under robes scribbling arrays on the floor! They did not stick their tongues out while they worked! Sect Leaders were...clean, tidy, orderly, even snooty or arrogant! Sect Leaders had servants to draw arrays! Sect Leaders..._did not care that deeply_!

Further upsetting his mind, Lan Wangji was on a box seated in the corner. Not a chair, but a box. He was sitting on a box! He was wearing his stunning white robes, his hair was perfect, his face serene. Everything about him was as it should be and everything about him being there was wrong.

Putting a hand to his face again, Zixuan let out a sigh. "Well, I am here." He said, announcing his presence to them.

"Yes, I can see that." Wei Wuxian replied, not getting up or even giving him much of a glance. "I sent a letter over with what I needed. Did you bring them? You'd have access to the Jin burial hall."

"Of course not!" Zixuan replied, in a moody tone. "You really think I would dig up the bones of some Jin clan member, my own family, for you to play with? Not only that, you actually want to grind them up into a powder and mix them with blood and wine? Are you a cannibal?!" He was utterly revolted by the idea of handling bones, but it was even worse to think of using them like that!

"Yeah." Wei Wuxian looked up, his tone and expression saying this was a completely normal thing to do. "Bones are very good for this kind of thing. Cinnabar isn't going to do the trick, I'm afraid." He looked at the array critically but finally sighed and nodded. "Well, your brother is going to die at this rate. He's being torn apart, quite literally. If we do not intercede, then he will divide into two halves. Neither half will be whole, though. His body..." He looked to the side. "...will be ripped apart in the process."

Biting his lips, Zixuan looked down at the array. He did not understand the complicated parts and it was obvious Wei Wuxian was too extreme to try to decode his mental process. He was a man that created his own arrays! When he hit a road-block, he did not try to plough it down or go around it, he built an entirely new road!

"You brought it, didn't you?" Wei Wuxian commented, folding his arms. "You wouldn't be here otherwise."

Reaching into his robes, Jin Zixuan took out a small black bag. Inside, there were some old bones; just thinking on the process to get them made him feel sick and he wanted to throw the bag at Wei Wuxian. Instead, he set it on a box to the side. "I cannot even begin to express how distasteful this is! You knew the Jin Clan would object and you had me...me!...go and fetch this wretched thing! I want nothing to do with the curses that fall on you for using these methods!" He shuddered, thinking of the ordeal he had been put to. "It took all my networking connections and a great deal of money to even find out where this thing was!"

"Ah, but you did it." Wei Wuxian pointed out, with that impish smile that made it incredibly hard not to punch him. "Jin Zixuan, I don't dislike you. I think you're pretty solid. Your brother on the other hand..." He frowned, folding his arms and looking away. "...he troubles me."

"Oh? I didn't know you had ever spoken to him." Zixuan folded up his arms and let out a small sigh. "It is an obligation to do all that we can and that was neglected. Furthermore, this injury occurred due to the war. Everyone is responsible for their part in things; the good and the bad. Sect Leader...should perhaps have been more tactful at such a time. Meng...km, Guangyao is, after all, a clan member."

"A clan member with daddy issues." Wei Wuxian replied. "Well, he gave up on it, is what I saw. He's very strong-willed, but I guess it just couldn't be supported anymore. Wen Ruohan could only be a place-holder for so long, too. But seeing as how he could stab _him_ in the back, you should be aware that contented people have no reason to revolt and unloved children are cruel. Its grab everything for yourself while you can, you could say, but they can be right angelic about how they do it."

"You think he could turn against the Jin Clan?" Zixuan asked, very quietly. "Even if the Sect Leader does not acknowledge him as a son, he has acknowledged him as a person! We provide everything for him, even his clothing!"

Shaking his head, Wei Wuxian sighed and set the scrolls down. "Well, I'm not one to speak on this but let me try your patience. For me...I left to protect the bonds that I have. But if there was never any bond, to begin with, it doesn't count as betrayal. You're saying 'stop and go' at the same time. That 'you are a clan member' but 'you are not family'. And this is all because of two stupid people eighteen years ago, but I would hazard to say Jin Guangshan is blameless as far as _that_ goes. It is not like he ordained that his son have a horrible life. He tried to stay out of Meng Yao's life! No, this is because right now, Meng Yao is dying. Guangshan couldn't be bothered, right? Then why should anyone bother when his time comes?"

Finding that more to the point then he wanted to admit, Zixuan let out a sigh. "Well, _I_ came." He muttered, feeling a little left out for some reason. He did not like feeling that way, either. He wanted to be acknowledged for doing these distasteful things and coming so far. He had a lot of duties he was neglecting because of this. He had also kept his dealings with a demonic cultivator secret, at a great financial cost, but out of his own will.

"It is the right thing to do." Lan Wangji suddenly spoke. "It is good that you came."

Although he did not know if he even liked Lan Wangji, somehow, hearing those words made him feel a little better. Zixuan pursed his lips, glancing at Wei Wuxian. "Where is Meng Yao?" He asked, softly. "Does he know about that?!" He gestured to the bag Wei Wuxian had opened up.

He had begun to crush the bones in a massive mortar and pestle. "Nope. He's unconscious." Wei Wuxian replied. "It's a good thing. Lingchi is extremely painful so it's better for him to just sleep through most of it. As for this, it should be fine as long as you keep your mouth shut. Patients do not need to know the details about how their bodies were operated on, they just need to know the method works."

"Oh." Zixuan found that dismally practical. "Anyway, I spoke with Jiang Yanli recently. She's very...particular about you." He got a terribly cold glare and rolled his eyes. "I can talk about someone without insulting them, you know. Or what? Is it wrong for me to point out that its uncomfortable to hear talk of you wherever I go? I could not make up my mind to feel jealous or relieved."

There was a long pause, then Wei Wuxian snorted. His shoulders shook for a long time, but then he smiled and shook his head. "All things in time, I guess." He muttered. "Yanli is like my surrogate. I don't even remember my mother's face. What little I remembered, I had to forget. To survive, I had to think about only food and shelter. And avoiding the dogs." He shuddered. "So, I didn't remember what it was like to be cared for. When I arrived at Lotus Pier, I was not quite five. I had been on the streets for a year. I saw gangs, cultivators, crazy people. I didn't even know this nice man who had come and taken me away, but I sensed that it was different from the men that took the other children away." He glanced over. "Children that were taken from the streets to work in brothels."

Jin Zixuan swallowed reflexively.

"Ironically or not, I escaped that fate by a narrow margin. I could have joined a gang, actually, or even ended up in a brothel. Some men work there. As musicians or guards or cooks or even as workers." He nodded to the shocked expression he got. "So don't sell your brother short, I guess. Or Yanli! This grubby, pessimistic, frightened child got dumped on her when she was just twelve years of age! Once, I got so scared that I ran away and got stuck up a tree. A-Cheng tried to come after me, fell down a ditch and broke his leg. Yanli came all the way out in thin robes and carried both of us back; we were six at the time." He glanced over. "Humble does not mean weak."

Having never considered how Wei Wuxian had grown up, Zixuan suddenly felt a great many people in the cultivation world had misjudged him. Those who called him shameless were probably correct.

What did shame mean when one was starving?

As the heir of the Jin Sect, he had never gone hungry and he would never go hungry.

"How does that even happen to a child of cultivators?!" Jin Zixuan demanded, his nose wrinkling. "Surely, there would have been some kind of provision!"

"My father was a servant so there wasn't much money. They Night Hunted to pay the bills." Wei Wuxian replied, absently. He was working his hands hard to finish the bones and managed to speak around bouts of grinding. "While my father technically belonged to the Jiang Sect, he more or less went rogue. And my mother was a whole other story." He gestured that aside as if it was beyond him as well. "Anyway, you don't have to worry about me and Yanli. I do love her dearly, but only as my family. The one to watch out for is Cheng, though." He waggled a hand. "Just be thankful it was me that hit you in the face. If it had been him, you'd have lost a tooth!"

Remembering how hard Jiang Cheng had hit his father, Zixuan decided to be more careful in the future. He also decided the subject was getting dangerously close to talk of marriage. The bone powder was quite fine now and the scent of wine filled the air as Wei Wuxian mixed the contents of the pots with the powder. Then, without any change in expression, he cut his arm open and allowed his blood to gush into the pot. It was a thick, rich crimson. The wound was not small and would normally have needed stitches but his flesh sealed itself and he only looked a bit pale. Watching this process was not all that exciting, but watching this man hack himself open that nonchalantly was traumatising.

The array was completed in a matter of fifteen minutes. Or rather, almost completed. One stroke was missing from the circular effigy. Meng Yao was brought in and laid to one side. Wei Wuxian brought out another urn and bathed him in clear water, taking his sweaty robes away and laying him in the array nude. He did not seem to think it was untoward to treat a person like that. Nor was it untrue that a medical person would have done the same thing.

Wen Ning came in with Wen Qing, who had been treating other wounded there at the Cloud Recesses. She took off her outer robe and tied back her hair primly. Wen Ning was in the corner to her left. She knelt at one side of the array, with her back to the door. Wei Wuxian was on the other side. Lan Wangji was still in his elected corner, but he was a little tenser than before; he sat to Wei Wuxian's right. Zixuan was left in the other corner of the wide room, kitty-corner from Lan Wangji, wondering what on earth was going to happen next. The remaining corner, the northernmost corner, was left suspiciously empty.

It was nothing he could have expected.

Once Wei Wuxian completed the array, it flared with a reddish light. The Qi he poured in was incredibly dense and oppressive. It felt like a tidal wave rushing into a cove or a landslide forcing the trees to part. Then, Wen Qing let her Qi fire and pour in. She was covered in a bright golden light that seared the air and made it ripple. She was very attractive but also extremely frightening. They both channelled a vast amount of Qi into the array. This seemed to build upon itself over and over again until the Qi had filled every intricate loop and curve of the sigil.

Meng Yao shuddered as the array leeched onto his skin. It wrote itself onto his body. The dark lines eating away at him seemed to expand and wiggle within his skin, drawn to the array. Slowly, as if unbinding, like ropes snapping. The darkness pooled into the central area of his naval. He was sweating the whole time but did not regain consciousness until the darkness had been entirely removed from his body. It was sucked into the array and moved around and around through the pattern until it reached Wei Wuxian.

He collected it in his hands!

The darkness of it seemed to suddenly flare with intelligence, making as if to wrap around him. He smiled at it, gently, not doing anything offensive toward it. It bit at his hands and beat on his chest with small fists. But slowly, it weakened. As if becoming sad or resigned. He held it closer as if sheltering it.

Lan Wangji stirred. He had the guqin across his knees and began to play some soothing melody; it was bittersweet but loving and welcoming. It was definitely a requiem. It had no effect on the array but the thing in Wei Wuxian's hands began to lighten and turned opaque. Then, it outlined in blue qi and turned into a small fairy. It was human in shape, but very small, and clung on to his thumb.

Wei Wuxian smiled at it, shutting his eyes. "He's going to be okay, you know." He spoke to it. "It's okay to move on."

The fairy looked back at Meng Yao. She let go of Wei Wuxian's thumb and floated over to him, looking at him as if very worried. Then she looked around, examining the room. She took her stock of Wen Ning, who smiled at her. Then Zixuan felt her gaze. Her expression drew in for a moment, but then smoothed out again. The music continued to waft through the air. Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing maintained their positions, still challenging all that Qi into the array. Abruptly, the fairy giggled and twirled effervescent sleeves; toward the northern, empty corner she flew.

As soon as she passed over the edges of the array, the image of her vanished.

There was no brilliant light, no sparkles, just the very brutal sense of reality after she was gone. Wei Wuxian smiled, looking up at the ceiling. He chuckled as if he had some inside joke.

It was at this point that Meng Yao woke up. He stirred, opening his eyes and looked around. Naturally, he was confused. He sat up, unphased by being nude, and looked at the array he was on. He looked at the Qi swirling around him. After a few moments, he assumed a lotus stance and began to cultivate.

Wei Wuxian used less and less of his energy and Wen Qing used more and more of hers. Finally, when all the wounds on his body were closed and he was a normal complexion, Wen Qing also retracted her Qi. She slumped, exhausted. Wen Ning rushed over to put her outer robe around her and hold onto her. It seemed that she was just cold though.

Lan Wangji was holding onto Wei Wuxian as no man should hold another man.

Staring at this side of the room, Jin Zixuan suddenly felt intuition hit him and accepted the truth he had been failing to see since he was fifteen years old. He almost felt stupid. It had been so obvious, there the entire time, and he had failed to notice it! And, upon seeing that, that soft expression on Lan Wangji's face and the relief that seemed to envelop Wei Wuxian, Jin Zixuan came to understand his own feelings.

That comfort and relief were things he would feel only around the most important people.

As for the naked man in the middle of the room, he was trying not to wallow in self-pity. So utterly alone. No one there to even offer him a robe. It was a very bitter sort of thing, seeing someone fumble their hands about to find their clothes when they really needed someone to help them.

Therefore, Jin Zixuan put pride aside and walked over the now broken array and knelt beside him. He helped him up, putting the clean robe, ready and waiting, around his shoulders. Meng Yao did look genuinely surprised anyone was helping him, but even more so for it to be him. Chewing his lip, Zixuan struggled, not sure what to say. He felt that he did need to say something. Finally, he sighed and nodded to himself. "From now on," He said, quietly. "It is up to us to look after Xuanyu. It may be difficult and heavens know I'm no better or worse at this, but _he's_ just a child."

Slowly, the blank, listless look in Meng Yao's eyes became a bit sharper. He looked over the array and the people who had done so much to help him. Outside pacing, was Lan Xichen. A Sect Leader taking up his time there out of worry was difficult to pass over. He looked at the array under him again, licking his lips. "I...coveted it." He said, touching the very terrible paint, totally unaware of what it was made from. "When I saw how powerful it was. Even Wen Ruohan was astonished. But, when I tried to analyse it, I became like that. It is because of that array, right?" He turned his eyes over, looking pointedly at Wei Wuxian's hands. "It makes no sense!"

Zixuan bit his lip, hearing his own thoughts voiced.

But Wei Wuxian smiled, brilliantly, holding out his hands for them to see. "Yes, yes, it's a good thing. Don't try to copy this again, though, Meng Yao. It's not something you or anyone else can use. If you want to know about demonic cultivation, I will talk to you about those methods. They are all very disturbing and not very nice. But this one..." He was leaning on Wangji, rather pale and satisfied with his work. "...this is one I got from my mama."

It all made sense. The senseless was made right and Zixuan felt like punching him again. Of course, it had to be the mother! Not just for one, but both of them. And Zixuan once again felt that there were few, extremely few, women he could trust.

Yet Meng Yao smiled. It was clear he felt relieved to hear this. He let out of a sigh and sat more comfortably, adjusting the robe he was wearing properly. For a moment, he cast his eyes to the northern corner, but he did not see any fairy, and just lowered them again. "Mo Xuanyu, was it?" He said, very softly. "Yes, I recall. He will need proper support. But. Zixuan, I am not disposable either. I learned very well what it means to treat others as disposable and that...if I walk that path...it would be a catastrophe. I feel as if I've passed some test and I admit I am going to need some time. For now," He took a deep breath and let it out. "I would like some rest."


	15. Procession of Lights

So, this is the last chapter. I think I've covered everything I wanted to. It's not like I own the story or characters, but I was able to vent the feelings that the story produced and I am content with the result. It's not 'just a fanfic' when you pour your time and energy into something. The _Procession of Lights_ is based very, very loosely on All Soul's Eve (Halloween) in its traditional sense. I wanted to make a distinction between the zombies and spirits because it's so obvious that Wei Ying's ability could be seen in a beneficial way, but in the original story, no one ever mentions this. Which really griped me, since Inquiry is okay but not something like this?

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed my twists on things. I did think I was being a bit pretentious with having Wei Ying incarnate within himself and essentially rewriting the story from that point on. I tried not to make the characters too radically different, but I did have to take some liberties in order to remain consistent.

Thanks to everyone who came along and waited so patiently for the chapters! Thanks to all the people who will read this now that it is complete!

* * *

Wei Ying stood at the top of a crude adobe wall, at Wei village, and smiled. Behind him, there was the demon slaughtering cave, an open space, a platform, and an armada. That was all he had for now since the majority of his monies and time had gone to the village. The last three years had been pleasant, by comparison, but there had still been upheaval and sorrows. Not just for himself, but for Lan Zhan, Jiang Cheng, and even Jin Guangshan.

He had not been certain that Jin Guangyao was responsible for the events leading to his horrific demise in that other timeline, but Wei Ying had not wanted to take any chances. Thus, he had decided to go the opposite route from what he had in that 'before' he could still remember. Much of the details had faded off and nothing was for-certain any longer, though. He could not predict the future, after all, just as Lan Zhan had insisted. If was too constantly in motion for that. What he did know, was that some people were more likely to do something, so he could plan for that.

And his actions had changed the future. He had lied about the Stygian Seal, even to Lan Zhan. He had lied about so many things he could no longer disentangle one from the next! He had arbitrarily used his mother's name to cultivate that future and he was proud of it. Jin Guangyao was content not to be left out, even though he had no talent for demonic cultivation whatsoever. Even he had acknowledged that after a few months, laughing at his own stupidity.

It was through his aid, as well as that of the other Sects, that Wei Village had a good stone foundation. Each building had a stone base and then a wooden upper. It was all black wood, harvested right there in Burial Mound, and quite beautiful when sanded, buffed, and lacquered. This had been something they could sell in the form of boxes, hair accessories, and staves. Jin Guangyao had aided them by handling the distribution of these things and the funding had allowed them to buy food and put all their labour force into the building.

Adversity had found them in the form of Jin Zixun. For some reason, that man just hated everybody. Wei Ying did not understand him and tried not to think about him too much. He had formed, not a sect, but a coalition. A group comprised of people with one common agenda; to defeat Yiling Patriarch. They had tried to garner sympathy form the other Sects, or at least Sect members, and some had initially responded.

Lan Qi Ren and Madam Yu among them.

Jin Zixuan and, of all people, his father, Jin Guangshan, against them.

For the first time in their lives, very likely, the Jin father and son were of the same mind. Not because they cared anything for Yiling Patriarch but because they knew a war with him would be too costly and dangerous. They had seen the sky go dark, the flames turn green, and the earth rise up at his command. They knew he had a contract with a Roc and could see the Worm-holes. He could travel in soul-form via many different types of poppets and had the ability to create darklings.

And all this was simply natural cultivation of Yin energy. That had not even touched on the command over the undead which was more accurately 'demonic' in people's minds.

Thus, they did not do anything to antagonise him. He did not meddle their affairs. He merely kept his eye on them and communicated to them that he was polite, not easy. Which Jin Zixun did not want to deal with and his raggle-taggle band had gone and done something unforgivable. They had captured not only some of the Wen Clan, but some people from the Lan Sect, Nie Sect, and Jin Sect. All guest cultivators headed for Burial Mound as an assignment. Wei Ying had been open to communal study as long as it was open-minded and allowed the people there to leave whenever they wanted. They could come and go freely, like the wind, like the water. It was not his place to keep them bottled up if they were unhappy there. His only rule was that they play nicely with each other while they were there.

And these people had been killed!

Turning at a tug on his hem, Wei Ying bent and scooped up a three-year-old. He was almost four already! Wen Yuan was quite particular about his ways and disliked loud things. He did not enjoy being swung around in the air and preferred to be held close. Wei Ying had discovered Wen Yuan quite by accident during his disassembly of that self-righteous group, and upon finding him there, in such a similar state to that 'before' he carried with him, he had gone almost insane.

Had Lan Zhan not been there, he might have truly turned into a demon. Instead, he had dragged Jin Zixun up to Carp Town by his hair and flung him at the door. He had been taken into custody and confined. A debate had been wrenched open, but Jin Guangshan had aspirations of his own. Some that no one could have anticipated, really. Jin Zixun had been handled strictly due to his ill-treatment of innocent persons. No one really cared if he opposed Yiling Patriarch, but they did care that he had brought everyone else into danger because of it. It had led to a conference among all the Sect Leaders, the result of which had shocked even Wei Ying.

None other than Jin Guangshan had retired from being a Sect Leader and taken up the position of Chief Cultivator. He had gone into seclusion for six months, no less, and come back an almost unrecognisable man. Madam Jin was still his sworn enemy, apparently, and they had begun living separately. This was because Jin Guangshan had declared that he was not particularly good at normal cultivation either and therefore utilized dual-cultivation; thus, he slept with a lot of women.

Those who knew, knew he was lying.

But, those who knew he was lying, knew it was a very good lie.

Unfortunately, A-Yuan had still lost his parents. Wei Ying had held onto him, rocking him, cuddling him, making sure he had eaten, until he was almost delirious. The fear that another kid would end up like him was bitter, but it was also how close he had come to failing. He had presumed that if he never met A-Yuan, then the child would grow up with his parents as he was meant to, and he had been proven wrong.

Wei Ying gritted his teeth, holding him tightly until A-Yuan squawked.

Delicate, if masculine, hands appeared to take the toddler from him. "Wei Ying." It was a mildly chastising tone. "Do not hold him until he cannot breathe."

"Oh, like you're any better!" Wei Ying scoffed, but with a happy smile. "I saw you holding him tightly just the other day!"

Lan Zhan looked away coyly, his eyes angled back at him. "That is an entirely separate matter." He commented. He toted A-Yuan away with him, back to the black armada he called a Jingshi, to continue getting A-Yuan dressed.

Smiling, Wei Ying decided he could count himself lucky to have at least saved A-Yuan. "I guess, it's time." He said, softly, adjusting his mostly red ensemble. It was a festival night, the night of the highest moon, and there was a lot of Yin energy for him to utilize as a result. "Although I feel a little ridiculous. Is this supposed to be my wedding?"

"Well, you're are the one who chose black and red." Wen Qing said as she came up the steps to the top of the wall. "The _Procession of Lights_, really! All the Sect Leaders are present and ready to come up. You've been putting them off for three years so you'd better put on a decent show. And why not a wedding dress, anyway? You're the Bride of Burial Mound!"

"I'm nobody's bride." Wei Ying snapped, although in his heart he added on 'yet'. He did not think his personality had been changed to such an extent he could include homosexuality; he had never considered being a bride 'before'. On the other hand, 'before' did not exist now. Turning to look back at the Jingshi, an all-black frame with top beams twisted and curved elegantly until it peaked dramatically. It almost looked like a dumpling. There, he had made a place, a haven, for Lan Zhan. So he could keep books and scrolls there, play music there, even sleep there! It was his place. And likewise, at the Cloud Recesses, there was one very untidy room. The only room with jugs of alcohol in it, nude pictures, trash, and bizarre arrays decorating the walls. That simple separate room where he lived during his frequent visits.

"All right, let them ascend the mountain, then." Wei Ying said as Lan Zhan came out. He was wearing a red shawl around his shoulders, over the blindingly white robes. He had seen the procession before and knew what the red represented. A-Yuan had a red coat and was holding a silver bell with a red tassel. He held it up adorably, grinning the entire time. "Thank you." Wei Ying said, before turning to head down the steps of the wall.

They were situated at the half-way point of the mountain. Technically, Burial Mound was made up of a flatland, steppes, and then ragged crags. The tallest was basically a mountain. There was no use in going up any further than that, since that was the Roc's territory. She would not come down that far to hunt them and they did not go up there to bother her nest. Only once in a great while would he go up and make sure she did not have bugs or wraiths affecting her eerie and take a ride on her back. She also seemed to like the company, so it was a good relationship. Her presence protected them from the rather large centipedes infesting the mound...large enough to fill the bell of a Roc anyway.

The Sect Leaders and their aides and families were brought within the wall. Wei Village was outside this wall and the scene of a festival. They had been making good foods, serving alcohol, dancing, singing, and mingling all day. Now that it was fully night and the moon was in the sky, it was time to start the real _Procession of Lights_.

He stood at attention in the middle of the platform. It was cool and everyone was wearing an extra layer. He had given out wraps and shawls for everyone. The children running around, a mix of colours, made him smile. They had black wands with red streamers. There were red lanterns hung on black branches. It was almost gagging in the brutal richness of the colour red, but he did think it was a pretty colour.

As it came on toward the correct time, red lights began to rise from the earth. Each one was a soul-fragment. With Chenqing, he began to play a simple, haunting tune. The fragments drew closer to him, to the lanterns, to the bell A-Yuan rang when prompted. He had a very tensed, determined expression since he believed it was a big role. In a way, it was. The bell helped dispel miasma and allowed the soul-fragments to gather together.

When two fragments of the same soul met, they became whole again. This went on for a while, by which time, there were some mostly formed spirits hovering. Each one had a very bright green core, but they were otherwise dull red in colour. They milled around the platform, almost like a party was going on and they the honoured guests. But, as was their course, they began to shine brilliantly and off they went. They flowed rather than walked. They became spherical in shape, condensing themselves down and migrating toward the distant forever.

The entire procession lasted only one hour.

It was a very beautiful scene, of course, and many people were moved to tears. To them, that was all that had happened. For Wei Ying, the spirits had looked just like people. People with bits missing. With holes in their faces, chests, or limbs. They were sad or happy people. They had been waiting within the mound for so long and it was only right that he help them out. Just one night of the year were they able to gather enough Yin energy to try to migrate, but they could not move on when they were not whole. Some were restless and went back into the earth; they had not found all of their soul fragments and were not ready to make that last journey yet.

Lan Zhan strummed his zither, dispelling the clouds of miasma that had begun to gather at the edges. The wraiths and unhappy dead that were out there also went back to sleep for the year.

A-Yuan's clear bell chimed a precise three times.

Then, it was done.

Bowing to the audience, Wei Ying tipped his head back. "That's it," He said, with a little shrug, as Jin Guangyao and Nie Mengjue came up onto the platform. "That's my job."

"It was beautiful," Guangyao commented. "I think I understand, but then, I also don't. Perhaps I won't until I am on the other side."

"Yeah, well..." Wei Ying giggled, putting a finger to his chin. "...we'll get there soon enough, right? Until then, I'm going to have fun! There are so many things to be done here. And maybe next year, this really will be my wedding dress." He turned his eyes to Jiang Cheng, who was just taking a sip of his drink, and delighted in him choking on it. Laughing, Wei Ying skipped off the platform like a young girl, twirling his sleeves and making a complete mockery of the otherwise solemn event. Because to him, the disapproving looks of others did not matter. There was only one pair of eyes he needed to pay attention, and they were, indeed, fixed on him.

"Lan Zhan!" He said, swooping in with a kiss to his cheek.

The startled expression lasted only a moment. Then he sighed and looked down. "You are drunk." He said, softly.

"Hm?" Wei Ying seated himself, curling up next to him and leaning on his shoulder. "Then why don't you join me?" He suggested. "Unless you'd rather not?"

Lan Zhan eyed him for a moment, then turned and handed A-Yuan off to Wen Ning. Wen Ning who always seemed to be conveniently to hand and also managed to conveniently disappear when the time came. Wei Ying watched him, wondering if he had learned some divine arts at some point, but then was caught by the smell of a very special liquor. Lan Zhan had brought out the Emperor's Smile from somewhere, likely a dimensional bag, and pulled the lid off. "I have to repay a debt." Lan Zhan replied, softly. "I broke your jar of wine."

Startled, Wei Ying blinked at him. Then his cheeks flushed and he burst out laughing. "Yes, you did!" He said, thinking back again. "Oh, how free we were to be idiots." He picked up the jar, drinking a good amount and then handed it out to Lan Zhan. "So now that we are older and wiser, you'll finally accept my offer and have a drink with me."

Lan Zhan took the jug, delicately sipping the wine, his eyes looking up over the jar to never leave their mark.


End file.
